Mystery at the Wilson's Place
by ccootttt
Summary: After the ordeal with the Blakes, things don't go as smoothly as planned at the Wilson's. Relationships change and sparks fly, but is it for the best? Sequel to 'They'll tear us apart if you give them the chance' but can be read seperately.
1. Back to School

_Author's note: okayy so this is the sequel to 'They'll tear us apart if you give them the chance'. You can read this separately if you like, but there will be a lot of references to the other story, so I do recommend that you read that first. :)_

_Thank you again to everyone who liked my last story, and also to the people who said that they were going to read this, I hope you like this one as well :D_

Fred sat in the classroom grinning, Daphne had been in school for just a few days now, and tonight, straight after school, they were heading outto get to work on the mystery at the Wilson's place. Taking into account everything that had happened in the Blake household, Daphne seemed to be handling it very well, she was perhaps even cheerier than she had been before it all began.

At this point, a lot of people were now in the room, awaiting their first lesson; religious education. Fred watched students from every single social group enter the room, but still couldn't spot Daphne. Velma and Shaggy walked in, taking their seats in front of him, turning around as they always did to make a conversation.

"Like, hey man." Shaggy greeted, his usual goofy smile plastered across his face.

"Hey Shag, you seen Daph this morning?" He asked, feeling uneasy at the red head's absence.

Shaggy shook his head, his unruly hair flying all over. "Like, no man."

"I haven't seen her either." Velma stated, her brow furrowing slightly, "Do you think she's okay?"

Shaggy noticed the concerned look on both of their faces, his own face showing a similar expression, but decided it was best to push it aside and said, "She's probably, like, just late, she, like, does live further away than us."

"Yeah I guess you're right." Fred muttered, lowering his head to his desk slowly., receiving a sigh from both Shaggy and Velma.

The rest of the lesson was agonisingly slow as Fred stared at the clock, his excitement slowly fading. His mind was constantly racing as he thought about where Daphne could possibly be, was something wrong? He'd been thinking like this ever since the incident with those three thugs. He'd always worried about her, whether it be at school or on a mystery, but since what happened, his imagination had been running wild. It drove him insane knowing that she could be in danger and he didn't know what was going on. 'What if she's been attacked?' He thought, 'What if she's been kidnapped! She could be locked away somewhere waiting to be rescued while her captors...'

His thoughts were suddenly cut off as he heard the door slam shut. Daphne was here. "Sorry I'm late sir." She apologised politely, scratching the back of her head nervously.

The teacher sighed, looking up at the clock, "That's fine Daphne, just please go and sit down and try to catch up."

Daphne simply nodded in response and wandered up to her seat, dropping her bag onto the floor and slumping into her seat. She didn't say anything to Fred, Velma or Shaggy, instead she pulled out a pen and started scribbling down notes. Her eyes were red and slightly swollen, as if she'd been crying, one of her cheeks a lighter shade of pink than the other. Fred watched her, curious of what had happened, yet still worried about her.

"D-Daph?" Fred murmured softly, leaning in closer to her. "Are you okay? You look a bit...upset."

Shaking her head she looked up, her eyes glazed over with unshed tears. "I've just had a little...disagreement with my Father this morning." She said, her voice shaking.

"What do you mean my 'disagreement'?" Fred asked, raising an eyebrow.

Daphne sighed, her eyes lowering to the desk, "He still doesn't want me to solve any mysteries." She said glumly.

"W-What?" Fred gasped, his eyes widening slightly, "Even after everything that's happened, he still wants to keep us all apart, what happened to 'We can't thank you enough'?"

Shrugging Daphne looked up, "I told him I was still going," She muttered, "I told him I would never stop solving mysteries with you guys." She paused, sighing softly as she gave Fred time to take everything in. "So then he said I was being stupid, that I'd never be able to make a decent career out of it, then he-"

"Slapped you." Fred finished.

"W-what? How did you know that?" Daphne gasped.

"Your cheeks still a little red." He said softly, gently stroking her cheek, frowning. She winced at his touch, backing away slightly.

"Yeah, well, then Mother stepped in and the argument got a lot worse." Daphne murmured, moving back closer to Fred, longing for his touch again despite the pain it caused her.

"Did he hurt her too?" Fred asked, taking Daphne's delicate hand in his.

She shook her head violently, "He'd never hurt Mother, he's scared of losing her again." Daphne said distantly, becoming lost in the thoughts of when her parent's almost divorced, something she'd only ever told one person about. "Then of course, because Delilah's home for the week, she just had to get involved."

"Oh." Fred murmured softly, his mind still stuck on the comment about her Father, not wandering why he was scared of losing her, but why he was scared of losing her _again. _There was obviously more to the Blake family than he knew about.

"I'm still coming with you though." Daphne said, "I'm sick of him telling me what to do, look at what a mess it got me into with..." She paused, her breath catching in her throat slightly as she thought of the boy she was so deathly afraid of, "Red."


	2. Dream Date

The bell rang for break and the classes rushed out to meet their friends, get some air or just have a snack. In Shaggy's case, it was getting a snack...as always. "Like Velma, these candy bars are like, so good." He said, stuffing another one into his mouth.

"God Shaggy, do you really have to talk with your mouth full?" Velma said giggling softly.

"Like, you want one?" Shaggy said, grinning with his chocolate covered teeth.

"Uhh, no thanks." Velma muttered, her attention turning to Fred and Daphne who were walking up the corriddor. "Hey Daph!" Velma smiled, her glasses resting on her cheekbones.

"Hey Velma." She replied, smiling weakly. Fred had managed to cheer her up a little, but not that much.

Shaggy began to chew faster, attempting to swallow his candy before addressing the red head. However, he didn't get chance to speak before a tall black haired boy strolled up to them. "H-hey Daphne." The boy said nervously.

"Oh, hey Jonathan." Daphne greeted, smiling warmly. Jonathan was a tall boy, strong, but not too muscular like a lot of the other popular boys. He was an artist and a musician, playing guitar and lead vocals in his band. He was a lot paler than a lot of other people as well, probably just as pale as Daphne herself, but like her, he never looked ill. His eyes were a very pale blue, his teeth pearly white, his hair short and spiked up.

"So, I...uh heard about what happened." He said, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. "My Mum told me."

"Oh...yeah that's right, you're Mum's a police officer. She was there when they got taken away." Daphne said, biting her lip.

"Yeah, so I, well, just came to see if you were okay, I mean, that's gotta be pretty rough."

"Yeah..." Daphne murmured, hey eyes showing a deeper sadness. Fred's fists clenched, anger bubbling up within him, outraged at Jonathan's careless words.

"Oh well, I hope you are okay." Jonathan said slowly, beginning to walk away. He quickly turned on his heel, back to the gang, "Uh, Daphne?"

"Yes?" She said, smiling at him once again.

"I, uh, well I...I just wanted to know if, well, if you'd maybe, want to...go on a date with me?" He stammered, a bead of sweat forming on his brow. He felt sick, Daphne was gorgeous, why would she ever want to go out with a guy like him? He wasn't a jock, he wasn't that strong, nothing like the other guy's she'd dated. "You know what, I, just forget it." He mumbled, turning away again.

"Jonathan wait!" Daphne cried out, a small smile on her lips. "You really want to go on a date with me?" She said, her eyes shining.

"Well...yeah." He said, avoiding looking into her sparkling eyes.

"Well, I think that would be great." Daphne grinned, secretly thrilled at the thought of going on a date with Jonathan. She'd never actually told anyone about this, but everything about him made her legs weak. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach whenever he spoke to her, when she watched him perform with his gang, it made her swoon. But she kept it hidden, never really thinking he would ever like her...and besides, she liked Freddie. However, she couldn't let this opportunity pass just because she still liked Fred.

"R-really!" He gasped, his genuine shock making Daphne giggle girlishly.

"Yeah, give me your number and I'll text you later and tell you when I'm free." She smiled, causing Jonathan to grin foolishly and walk away mumbling his goodbyes."

Turning around, Daphne looked at Velma and Shaggy, smiling dreamily as she did so. But her smile soon faded, as she noticed the angry faced staring back at her. Shaggy looked the most annoyed, his lips turned into a firm frown as he ran his hands through his hair, his teeth grinding. Velma was also frowning, her freckled face angry and disapproving.

"I thought you liked Freddie." She hissed, leaning in in close to Daphne, her narrow eyes searching the red heads pale face.

"Well, I...Where is Freddie?" Daphne asked, attempting to change the subject, yet still curious none the less.

"He stormed off when Jonathan came to speak to you." Shaggy growled, his own eyes narrowing. "He looked pretty pissed off to me."

Velma looked up at the tall teenager, a look of confusion pained on her face. 'Why does he get so touchy when it comes to Daphne?' She thought, her brain searching for a logical answer that wouldn't break her fragile heart.

"Oh..." Daphne murmured, the agonising pain of guilt building up inside her chest. 'Is it my fault Freddie stormed off, or was it something else?' She though, biting her lip nervously, 'Maybe I should go see if he's okay...'

_Author's note: okayy so here's chapter 2, but I'm not too sure when I'll get this updated, got a busy few weeks ahead of me so please bear with me :)_

_Please review and tell me what you think of this so far, and don't worry, the mystery shall begin soon ;)_


	3. Speaking His Mind

Daphne spent most of break wandering around searching high and low for her blonde friend. Finally she walked into the library to see him sat at a desk, on his own, head in his hands. Slowly ans silently, she tip toed towards him, trying not to disturb him too much.

"Freddie?" She practically whispered.

"Huh?" He grunted, his head shooting up to look at her. "Oh. Hey Daph." She frowned,there was a bitter, resentful tone to his voice that Daphne wasn't familiar with. His eyes were cold as he looked her up and down before turning away.

"Freddie," Daphne sighed, "What's wrong have I done something to upset you?"

His head snapped back towards her, a fire burning in his eyes as he grew more and more frustrated with the red head. "I'm just still pissed that your Dad slapped you, you should tell the police or something." He muttered, not wanting to tell her why he was really annoyed.

"Oh." Daphne murmured softly, her gaze lowering to her twiddling thumbs. "I guess I should, but I wouldn't want to get daddy in to trouble."

Fred's temper was blazing, 'Did she seriously just say that?' he thought. "What the hell Daphne!" He cried, his voice raising so he attracted quite a bit of attention. He lowered his voice a little, aware that people were beginning to stare. "I don't know what's going on with you Daph, but you need to grow a freakin' backbone," He hissed, "You never used to be like this, I don't know what's happened to the old you, but the new you is just a corrupted little coward." He looked up ad watched as her shock changed into a slow realisation. Her eyes brimmed with tears, her mouth agape as a strong pain grew within her. "It's all after that whole thing with those three idiots, since then you've just been sucking up to your 'Daddy' and he still treats you like shit! And now, you're going on a date with Jonathan, really? After everything that's happened you're just gonna get straight back into dating!"

Daphne straightened up in her chair, taking slow, deep breaths. Once she felt she had regained her composure, he prepared to speak to Fred, yet found she couldn't look at him. "Well Freddie, maybe I'm sucking up to my Father because I thought I was going to lose him, maybe I put up with being treated like shit because I know that deep down, he does love me, and maybe I'm going on a date with Jonathan because he actually cares about my feeling, unlike some other guys I know, some guys like the one sitting at this table." Fred listened to her intently, he was still angry but he couldn't help but feel sorry for her on some level as her heard her voice trembling from the uncontrollable urge to cry.

"Daphne, you're being such an idiot." Fred growled, "Can't you see it, you're Dads the one whose making you think like this, he wants you to think that what he's doing is best for you. And Jonathan's just taking advantage of you. I mean, come on Daph, he knows what's gone on, he knows your in a vulnerable state and hes giving you a shoulder to cry on so that he can get what he wants."

At this point Daphne couldn't take anymore of this verbal abuse. Standing up she resisted the overwhelming urge to cry as she quickly made her escape back to the corridor. The bell rang, signalling that break was now over.

The rest of the day, Fred tried to find Daphne, to tell her that he was sorry, but what he was saying was right. He tried to talk to her during lessons, but she sat as far away from him as she could, and always seemed to be with Jonathan between lessons. St lunch Fred searched all of her usual hang outs, but found that she wasn't in any of them. Finally he found her, sitting with Jonathan a table full of his friends. They were an unusual bunch, probably as odd as Mystery Inc. There was Jonathan of course, then a small pale girl with bright pink hair, seated next to her was an equally pale boy, with mid-length black hair and purple streaks. Across from them sat a boy, blonde hair gelled back into a strange comb over style with glasses similar to Velma's and next to him was a girl with long mousy brown hair as straight as a ruler down her back, her eyes not looking completely focused. And of course, in the middle of this group, sat Daphne Blake, looking just as pretty as usual, yet something about her looked off. She was holding onto Jonathan's arm, a smile on her face and she spoke to him, but what made her seem different, was the black mascara that had run down her cheek a little. She'd obviously been crying, and unfortunately for Fred, he knew it was all his fault.

T the end of the school day, the gang waited for Daphne, but she never showed up at their brightly coloured van. Fred sighed, "We'll have to go guys, the Wilson's will be waiting."Velma nodded in response, turing back to a bored looking Scooby and a concerned looking Shaggy.

"Shag, you okay?" Velma asked,a hint of concern in her own voice.

"Like, yeah I'm fine." He murmured, stroking Scooby's head softly. "It's just Daph, I'm a bit worried about her, you know?"

"Yeah Shaggy, I know what you mean." Velma said softly, unable to hide her disappointment as she thought about Daphne and Shaggy once again. This was one topic, which always confused her, anything to do with love never failed to baffle her.

The journey to the Wilson's was filled with an awkward silence, Fred feeling guilty, Shaggy concerned, and Velma deep in thought. When they finally arrived, the all clambered out of the mystery machine to find a small, red car parked next to them. Inside sat none other than Daphne and Jonathan.

When they saw them, the climbed out of the car, the door threatening to fall off due to the force Daphne slammed it with.

"Daph, I thought you weren't going to show." Fred grinned.

"I said I would and I stick to my word." Was her simple reply, no smile, no friendly tone, just a straight, emotionless answer.

"Oh, right well, we should go ask what's been going on here then." Fred muttered, his cheeks turning red at such a blunt answer.

The group walked into the old house, being greeted by Mr and Mrs. Wilson as they did so. Soon enough they were all sat at the kitchen table, ready to hear the information the Wilson's had to tell.

"Well, It stared off with just a few bits of furniture being moved around at night, then the footsteps showed up." Mrs. Wilson said, her voice shaking as her grey hair fell flatly around her chubby face.

"The glowing ones?" Velma inquired.

Mrs. Wilson nodded as Mr. Blake prepared to continue, pushing his over sized glasses up. "Then we started hearing strange noises, and all of a sudden, a pale, glowing figure started creeping around the house."

"What kind of noises?" Daphne asked, her curiosity getting the better of her bitter mood.

"Like, moans and scraping noises, sometimes bangs and hammering sounds, it's really quite dreadful." Mrs. Wilson said shaking her head.

"I Can imagine." Fred murmured, deep in thought.

"Like zoinks, this sounds creepy man." Shaggy shivered.

"Reah, reepy." Scooby repeated.

"Come on guys, don't be such chickens!" Velma cried.

"Yeah, I think it's about time we split up to look for some clues." Fred said, standing up from the table, his leader instincts taking over. "Daphne and I will head upstairs, While Shaggy and Scooby-"

"Wait." Daphne interrupted. "I'm not going with you." She spat.

"What? But that's how we always do it!" Fred protested.

"Yeah, well things have changed Freddie, I'm going with Jonathan, you go with Velma and Shaggy goes with Scooby. Simple." Upon hearing this, Jonathan wrapped his arms around Daphne from behind, a smile on his pale face.

"B-but Daphne!" Fred tried again.

"No Freddie, you told me to grow a backbone, and that's what I am doing." She growled, Turning away from him and pulling Jonathan along by his hand.

_Authors Note: Okayy, so here's the next chapter, sorry for any errors but its late and I want to go to bed. :)_

_Thank you again to all of the reviews, I really appreciate I, and please, if you can, write another one, short or long, on what you think so far :) I know the plot is a little thin right know, but hopefully it will thicken out as I get into it :)_


	4. Didn't want to hear that

"I can't believe she just went off with him!" Fred cried. "I mean, we always look for clues together!"

"Yeah well, after what you said to her, I'm not surprised she didn't want to." Velma muttered, shaking her head in disapproval. She'd been acting like this for most of the day, constant mood swings. One minute she seemed annoyed, the next she appeared anxious and then she clearly looked upset. Fred wanted to ask her what was wrong, but she seemed to be reluctant to talk to him.

"How did you know what I said to her." Fred asked, his voice low. She turned to him, her eyes locked on him in a hateful gaze. Fred felt guilt building up inside him, it didn't matter how she knew,she just did, and thinking back, what he said would have hurt Daphne,really, really hurt her. He looked away, unable to keep his eyes on the small brunette before him. He quickly made his way to a bookshelf in the neglected room of the Wilson household.

"You can be a right jerk with Daph you know." Velma hissed, also walking up to the bookshelf. "Do you really have no idea how much you hurt her today Freddie?"

"Yeah, course I do." He muttered.

"Then why do it?" Velma asked, "Why say those things to her, do you want to make her feel like this? Do you want her to hate you?"

"No! Of course not!" Fred cried, his hands slamming into the bookshelf in frustration.

"Then why do it!" Velma cried back.

"I-Idon't know!" Fred yelled back, feeling his voice cracking as he spoke.

"For God sake Fred! You have no idea how much she looks up to you, and then you just go and treat her like that! I found her sobbing in the girls toilets today Freddie. When I was late for Maths that's where I was Fred, Making sure that my best friend was okay after the verbal abuse you subjected her to...and after everything she's been through..." Velma sighed, gently running her fingers along the ragged books.

"Yeah well that didn't seem to stop her hanging round with Jonathan." Fred growled. "I mean, come on, she even brought him here." He turned away from her, looking through some of the aged books himself. "Since when does she like him anyway."

"I-I don't know." Velma admitted softly. "But still, that's no excuse to talk to her the way you did Freddie, just because you're jealous."

"I'm not jealous." Fred grunted.

"Don't lie Fred." Velma said, a subtle smile on her face.

"I'm not jealous!" He bellowed, punching the bookshelf in frustration.

Opening her mouth to reply, Velma found she didn't get chance to as the bookshelf whipped around, sending them into a dark, narrow corridor. "J-jinkies." She stammered breathlessly.

"Like, Scooby Doo, I think I've like, died and gone straight to heaven." Shaggy said, laughing.

"Reah, rehehe" Scooby replied.

They were both stood in the Wilson's Kitchen, broad grins stretching their faces. The fridge was fully stocked, as well as all the cupboards and the pantry. The stuck right in, Shaggy heading for the fridge and Scooby disappearing into the pantry.

"Like Scoob, how about I make two super Shaggy sandwiches!" Shaggy called out.

"Reah, Reah, Reah!" Scooby nodded, his eyes shining; tongue dripping.

"Like, come on then buddy," He grinned,carrying various jars and bottles to the table, "You get the bread Scoob."

As Scooby reached out to pick up the large loaf of bread, a loud bang was heard. The pair screamed and Scooby dived into Shaggy's awaiting arms. "Rhat ras rat?" Scooby whimpered.

"L-like I dunno Scoob." Shaggy stammered. Shaggy lowered Scooby until he was on his hind legs and let him go. Shakily, he crept towards the door, where outside, low, breathless voices could be heard.

Shaggy continued to make his way towards the door, a timid Scooby Doo following. Pooping his head around the corner ever so slowly, Shaggy sighed with relief. It was just Daphne and Jonathan. One of them, most likely 'danger-prone' Daphne, had knocked over a small table and now they were both doubled over giggling while trying to pick it back up.

"Daphne, help me with this!" Jonathan whispered, struggling not to laugh.

"I-I'm trying!" Daphne giggled back.

After a few moments of cringe worthy comments and struggles, they table was once again back where it was. Still slightly out of breath from her giggle fit, Daphne leaned on Jonathan's shoulder, wrapping her arm around him in the process.

"Come on Daph, we better get started on finding some clues." He said, sliding away from her and heading to a nearby desk.

"Oh Jonny..." Daphne pouted, making Shaggy's brow furrow, "Don't be such a spoil sport."

"Aww, come on Daph, I thought you loved all this sort of stuff." He replied, flicking through some old papers.

"I do, it's just well, I...I just don't know anymore." Daphne sighed.

'What does she mean by that!' Shaggy thought, a panic rising in his chest. 'Does she want to leave the gang!" Shaggy felt himself trembling, but not because of the fact there was a mystery upon them, but because he was truly frightened that Daphne would want to leave them.

Daphne flopped down into the chair lying by the desk, a frown on her face. "After so many mysteries, where you know it's just a guy in a suit, it just, it gets old." She paused, a thoughtful look crossed her face and she looked up at Jonathan, who by now, was completely focused on Daphne. "It just causes so much trouble at home as well, I'm just not sure if it's worth it anymore..."

Shaggy felt like his heart was breaking, sure, he wasn't too fond of mysteries, but that was the one thing that gave them a reason to stick together, without it, the gang could be at risk of falling back into their old social groups. A lump rose in his throat as he turned and signalled for Scooby to move back. Unfortunately, Scooby slipped and fell, knocking Shaggy into the room where Daphne and Jonathan were now hugging.

"S-Shaggy!" Daphne cried, breaking away from Jonathan to stare at the lanky teenager sprawled across the floor.

"Dude, what happened!" Jonathan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Like, I uh..." He looked at the couple before him, both impatiently waiting for an answer, "Scooby pushed me!" He shouted, pointing at the Great Dane who was now sheepishly peeping around the corner.

"Rey!" Scooby gasped, glaring at Shaggy.

Daphne and Jonathan glanced at each other, both stifling a giggle. Daphne took a few steps back, covering her mouth with her hand as a chuckle escaped her rosy lips. She backed into a wall, leaning against it for support, but received a nasty surprise when she was spun around and sent into a narrow, damp corridor.

She squealed, falling onto her backside and she looked at her surroundings. "Daphne!" She heard Jonathan call out, "Where are you!"

"Uhh..." She stalled, still dazed from her fall, "I-I'm not entirely sure..." She yelled back, scrambling to her feet.

"She like, fell through a wall I think." Another voice said, obviously Shaggy from his use of th word 'like'.

She could hear footsteps and creaking sounds as the two boys and Scooby tried to push the wall. Suddenly, they were whipped around in a similar fashion to Daphne and landed in a tangle at her feet.

_Author's Note: Okayy so here's the next chapter, I wrote some of this the other day but decided to take a break and write another Scooby Doo one shot :)_

_I would have wrote this last night, but I went to see The Rocky Horror Picture show at the thatre, and well, it was awesome ;)_

_So anyway, sorry for the wait and I hope you like this Chapter, please review and tell me what you think! ^-^_


	5. Falling too Fast

_Author's Note: Okay, so surprisingly, I have actually planned what is going to happen in this series when the gang are like, in their 20's xD I thought of it while watching 'Fireman Sam' with my brother this morning XD But yes, it will take a while to build up the drama through the years for now, as at the moment, they are in their last year of school. I even have the plots and the villains sorted out! Oh I do feel organised ;) _

_Anyway, for now, I shall carry on with the story, and please, if you have the time, drop me a review :)_

Shaggy and Jonathan groaned as they looked up at Daphne, Scooby was firmly placed across their backs as he rolled over onto his stomach.

"Like Scoob, get off us!" Shaggy moaned, attempting to push the Great Dane off himself.

"Yeah Scooby, you're heavy you know!" Jonathan whined, trying to drag himself from underneath the dog.

Scooby chuckled, staying put to simply annoy the teenagers. "Like Daph, help?" Shaggy muttered, gazing up at the giggling read head.

"You three look ridiculous!" She laughed, holding onto her sides. The two boys groaned once again and continued to try and get up. Looking up at Daphne once again they she looked considerably paler, and her arms now fell limp by her sides. She was staring at something, something behind them, with wide eyes.

"G-guys..." She said, her voice barely above a whisper. She pointed out a trembling finger and took a few steps back. "I-I think I've found the ghost..."

Scooby slowly turned his head and yelped. Faster than a bullet she shot up and dashed past Daphne, who was still pointing at the pale, ghostly figure. Shaggy was the next to stand, he jumped up and ran towards Daphne, reaching out and picking her p in a fireman's lift before carrying her away, Jonathan following close behind.

The ghost was quick on their tail. It looked quite old fashioned, a male with hair just past his ears, a bloodstained shirt torn in places and long trousers also spattered with blood. He had a blazer on, but that was in just as bad a condition as the shirt beneath it. A tie hung loosely around his slashed throat, which was still dripping the red liquid. He wasn't completely white, like most of the 'ghosts' they had come in contact with, no, this one was a greyish colour, almost white, but not quite that light. Dark circles drooped around his cold, black eyes and his lips were a similar colour to his skin, but with a slight tinge of blue.

The screaming teenagers sprinted down the hall, with the exception of Daphne who was still in Shaggy's arms.

"W-what is that thing!" Jonathan gasped, glancing back at the fast approaching ghost.

Daphne raised her head from Shaggy's shoulder to look at Jonathan, her hair whipping around her face. "I-I-I don't know!" She cried, her voice shaking with each step Shaggy took. "A g-ghost? A-a zombie? I-I..." Daphne stammered, searching for an answer that didn't sound so unbelievable.

"Like, does t really matter!" Shaggy interrupted, his voice high and squeaky, "All I know is it's after and we like, have to split, like now!"

The continued to run down the narrow corridor, turning sharp corners and running up ad down various steps. They turned another corner, but failed to see the steps, or the people climbing them. They ran straight into Fred and Velma, knocking them to the ground. They all screamed as the hit the cold stone floor, landing on top of one another.

"D-Daphne!" Fred breathed, winded from the red head landing on top of him.

"F-Fred?" She replied, finding herself breathless even though she hadn't done any of the running herself.

"Shaggy?" Velma gasped, re-adjusting her glasses as they had been knocked off in the chaos.

"Oh, hey Velma," Shaggy said smiling sheepishly, "Like, I think we should run now."

"W-what?" Velma asked, but she didn't get an answer as Shaggy scooped her p, like he did to Daphne, and began to carry her away, Scooby close behind them.

"What's going-" Fred was cut off as Daphne jumped up and gripped his hand, pulling him along.

"It's the ghost! I-it's after us!" She cried back, leading him down the corridor after Velma, Shaggy and Scooby.

They all continued to run, until the reached a dead end. "L-like we're trapped!" Shaggy gasped.

"There's gotta be some way out!" Velma cried, looking around desperately. "Jinkies!" She exclaimed, causing the group to turn their attention to her, "Fred, Isn't this where we came in!"

Fred paused and looked at his surroundings, "I, I think so!" He yelled, "Everyone, try pushing the wall!"

All of the gang took a run up at the wall, arms stretched out towards the wall. As soon as they all hit it, the wall spun around sending them crashing into the room Fred and Velma were searching beforehand.

The all lay still in a heap on the floor, trying to catch their breath, listening closely for any noises beyond the wall. There was none. As they all rose to their feet, Fred looked at Daphne and noticed her panicked expression. "D-Daph, are yo okay?" Fred asked, concerned.

Velma looked over at them, a nervous look on her face. "Where's Jonathan?" Daphne whispered, looking around slowly.

"Like, he must still be in there." Shaggy mumbled, scared of Daphne's reaction. Her eyes desperately searched the room once more before her gaze became locked on the wall they had tumbled through just moments before.

She lunged forward, reaching for the false wall. Fred dived in front of her, gripping her slender arms in a strong grasp. "Daph, what are you doing!" Fred growled.

"W-we have to find him." Daphne stammered. She looked lost, her eyes were constantly darting about, as if she didn't know where to look, her mouth hung open, waiting for words to form, but they just didn't seem to. She was shaking, her breathing speeding up until she was taking short, shallow breaths.

"Daph, just calm down okay. We'll find him, but we can't go back in there." Fred said softly, loosening his grip on her arms as she looked in his eyes. Inside he felt like he was being torn apart. Daphne obviously cared for him a lot just after one day together, they had chemistry and he couldn't deny it. Thoughts entered his mind as he stared at the disoriented girl before him, 'Does she worry this much when I go missing?' He shook his head, trying to get rid of these thoughts, but they refused to leave his mind. "Daph, we'll have to find another way in there okay?"

Daphne nodded, biting her lip nervously. She backed away. Velma walked towards her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Come on Daph, we'll split up, you come with me and the guys can go back into the tunnel."

"Like, w-what!" Shaggy protested, but quickly quietened down when Velma shot an angry glare at him.

"Come on Daph, we'll go look around upstairs." Velma said soothingly, putting her arms around Daphne and leading her out of the room.

Shaggy and Scooby stayed silent as the girls walked away, hearing their faint footsteps and Fred's annoyed mutters. "Come on guys," Fred mumbled, "Show me how you got in that corridor then."

"Daph, are you okay?" Velma asked once they reached a guest bedroom. She closed the door and turned to face her. Daphne shook her head in response. Velma sighed, sitting down next to Daphne on the bed, "Daph, tell me what's wrong, I know you're worried about Jonathan, but you just seem really...off."

Daphne rested her head in her hands, "I-I don't know..." Daphne sighed. "I just, I'm so scared some things happened to him." She paused, running her hands through her auburn locks. "I know that I've dated a lot of guys Vel, but I...I just...I've never felt like this about someone before."

"Daphne," Velma said,softly, but seriously, "You've been dating him for a day, you need to-"

"I know." Daphne interrupted. "I'm trying not to fall too fast, but Velma I can't help it." Tears stung the corners of her eyes as she looked up at Velma.

"Daph, I just don't want to see you get hurt again...Neither does Freddie, or Shaggy or Scooby"

"And I don't want to get hurt like that again, b-but Velma." Daphne whispered, "If something does go wrong with Jonathan, it's going to hurt a lot more than all the other times. Velma, I...I need to know he's okay."

"He'll be fine Daphne." Velma comforted.

"B-but what if he's not!" Daphne cried, standing up. "Velma I...I don't know what's wrong with me, t-this has never happened to me before Velms, W-whats wrong with me?" Daphne slumped onto the bed, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"D-Daph I don't know..." Velma said softly.

"B-but Velma," Daphne mewed, "Y-you always know the answer..."

"No Daph, I don't...I think you have to work this one out on your own, to me, it sounds like...you really like this guy..." Velma murmured, sympathy for Fred growing inside of her. She knew he liked Daphne, he tried to hide it, but he was terrible at lying.

"I...I do, but after just one day?" Daphne sighed, "It just seems too fast."

Velma shrugged, choosing not to answer her friend as she stared intensely at the floor. She did think that Daphne had fallen for Jonathan far too quickly, and now, if things didn't work out between them, Daphne would experience another heartbreak, but this one, would be much harsher than the others...


	6. Danger Prone Daphne

"L-like t-t-this is where w-we came in." Shaggy stammered, pointing at the wall that Daphne had tumbled through earlier. Scooby cowered behind him, his tail between his legs.

"Come on guys," Fred said stepping towards the wall, "We need to go find Jonathan."

"Why!" Shaggy practically shouted, causing Fred to jump a little. "I mean...uh...I thought you didn't like him?"

Fred turned away from Shaggy, a frown on his face, "Well, I don't really, but that's no reason to just leave him." He muttered quickly. "Besides, there are people who'll worry about him even if we won't."

"Like Daphne." Shaggy said softly, his eyes lowering to the floor. An awkward silence engulfed the room, the only sound the quiet chattering of Scooby's teeth as he trembled. Neither of the boys knew what to say, they both cared for Daphne a great deal and didn't like to see her so worried.

"Yeah, like Daph..." Fred murmured, glancing at Shaggy who was still looking at the floor, his hands in his pockets. Fred could see the expression on his face, a mixture of concern and sorrow was written across it. "Come on, we better go look for him."

Shaggy nodded in response, ignoring the fear building up inside him as he thought about Daphne, silently hoping that she wasn't really in love with Jonathan. Scooby followed, the tension in the room silencing him as he slowly marched into the narrow corridor.

Once inside they looked around at the different pathways which they could take. After a few minutes of discussion Fred had managed to persuade the two chickens to go down the corridor where they spotted the ghost, with the help of a few scooby snacks that is. They walked down, none of them saying a word as the path became darker and darker. Shaggy and Fred pulled out their phones, using the light on each of them, they continued down the corridor, still in complete silence.

"Hey Velma," Daphne said, standing at on open window in the guest room. She had opened it to get some fresh air, feeling faint at the though of anything happening to Jonathan. "You can see almost all of Coolsville from here." She sniffed, still finding it difficult not to cry.

Stepping over to the window Velma looked upon the setting sun over the horizon. Daphne was right, most of Coolsville was in sight, bar a few older buildings on the outskirts of town. "Woah, it's beautiful..." Velma sighed.

The pair stared out until the sun was completely set and the street lights were beginning to flicker. A cold gust of wind suddenly blew inside of the small guest room, sending shivers down the girl's spines. "D-Daph close the window, its cold." Velma shivered.

Nodding, Daphne reached out but froze, not because of the cold, but because of a glowing figure at the end of the Wilson's garden. "V-Velma." Daphne whispered, "I-is that what I think it is?"

Adjusting her glasses, Velma squinted to see the figure, but still couldn;t quite make out what it was. "I don't know Daph, i-it might be the ghost," She paused, finding it hard to swallow, "But then again, it could just be...something else."

Daphne raised an eyebrow, "Something else?"

"Well I don't know!" Velma protested, "I'm half blind for goodness sake!"

Rolling her eyes Daphne leaned out of the window, trying to get a better look at whatever this thing was. "Velma, hold onto me." She said softly, staying quiet to avoid attracting any unwanted attention.

"Daphne are you _insane?"_ Velma hissed, gripping the red head's legs as she leaned further our of the window.

"Well would you rather have 'Danger- Prone Daphne' dangle you out of a window?" Daphne hissed back, holding onto the window ledge for extra support.

"Yeah well I don't really want to be holding danger prone Daphne out of a window either, you have a habit of injuring yourself and everyone else around you while your at it!" Velma grunted, tightening her grip on Daphne's legs.

"Oh well thanks for that Vel-" Daphne sentence ended in a high pitched squeak as the worn window ledge she was holding onto broke under the strain.

"Daphne!" Velma cried, lunging forward as the weight suddenly increased. Daphne didn't exactly weigh much, but in such an awkward position with a girl almost a foot smaller than her trying to hold her up, it was very likely that soon she would be plummeting to the hard ground below.

Velma could hear Daphne panicked cries for help as she swung back and forth, trying desperately to grab onto something. Velma was now holding her by the ankles, her hands slipping off the pink tights Daphne wore. "V-Velma pull me up!" She screamed.

"Daph, I-I'm trying!" Velma grunted.

"Velma it's the ghost! H-he's coming over here now!" Daphne shrieked.

"W-what!" Velma gasped. However, her reply was cut short as a large stone was thrown through the window, hitting her on the forehead. Letting go of Daphne's legs, she dropped to the floor, a sharp pain shooting through her whole body. The last thing she heard before she passed out was Daphne's screams.

"Like, did you hear that?" Shaggy gasped, his eyes darting around the corridor.

"R-rit rounded rike.."

"Daphne." Fred finished, fear lacing his soft tone. The three remained still, shock forcing them to stay in their current position as the scream came to a sudden stop ad echoed around the empty corridor. "Come one." Fred spoke, darting back the way they came.

_Author's Note: okay sorry that it's been a while since I updated, and sorry that its a rather short chapter, but once it's time for the Christmas holidays I hope to update a lot more frequently and hopefully get right into this series ^-^_

_Thank you to my regular reviewers and please, if you have the time, tell me what you thought of this Chapter :)_


	7. Watch Out!

Daphne tumbled through the air, her screams travelling throughout the whole Wilson household as the wind whipped her auburn hair into her pale face. The only thought she had as she grew closer and closer to the cold ground was 'I'm going to die' and the red head honestly did believe that she wouldn't be able to find an escape from this one. Closing her eyes so tight it hurt her eyelids, she felt the warm tears still managing to find their way down her rosy cheeks, the bitter taste entering her screeching mouth.

Then, something softened the blow she expected to face. Her landing still hurt and she was convinced that she had whiplash from her head bouncing back up to meet her chest as something caught her; as _someone _caught her. Momentarily dazed, she blinked a number of times, trying to clear her vision as she wiped her tear streaked face. However, when she did bring herself to look up at her saviour, she soon wish that she didn't.

Standing over her, his arms wrapped around her holding her up in a bridal carry, was none other than the ghost they had been searching for. Her mouth opened, but no sound departed as she became paralysed from the fear inside of her. Reaching up, she touched his throat, the large gash still looked fresh as the blood dripped down onto her chest. As her hand made contact, she immediately pulled it away, feeling a warm ooze sliding through her fingers. His skin was icy, yet the wound still remained warm, as if he had only just been injured.

"You'll all pay for what you did to me!" The ghost bellowed, its voice hoarse. "Let this girl be a warning to you all!"

The ghost began to walk away, still holding her tight in his grip. Daphne's heart was pounding faster than it had ever down before now, something about this ghost didn't feel right. He had just saved her from falling from a high window, and now he was planning to make an example of her? What could he possibly plan to do with her that would be worse than falling to her possible doom? Well, she wasn't going to stick around and find out. Throwing her arm up, she hit him hard in the ribs with her elbow, causing him to grunt and drop her. Refusing to be defeated that easily, the ghost retaliated and as she turned to run, reached out and took her arms in his cold hands, pulling them tight behind her back, preventing her from running away.

"H-Help!" Daphne screamed, as he held her arms up against her back painfully tight. Turning her head to look behind her, she noticed something a watch on the ghost's greyish blue arm. It looked expensive, quite modern, nothing like the rest of the his attire. Craning her neck to get a closer look, she heard footsteps approaching quickly and turned her head to face the direction the sound was coming from.

"Daphne!" She heard Fred cry out. He stood, his shoulders back and feet apart, ready to fight for her.

"L-like zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed as he also ran out, followed by Scooby and the Wilsons.

"You'll all pay!" The ghost boomed once again, "This girl will never live to see ano-" A sharp cry of pain stopped him from continuing as Daphne took this opportunity to dig her pointed heels into the ghosts foot. Letting go of her, the ghost stepped back, his foot throbbing. He looked at Daphne, his lips contorting into a carnivorous snarl. "You." She growled coldly, pointing a bony finger at her.

Stepping towards her, he clenched his fist, ready to strike. Eyed widening, Daphne took a few more steps away, before turning to her heel and sprinting around the house. The ghost quickly followed, a determined gaze following her every move. Fred was the next to spring into action, shouting threats after the ghost. The Wilsons, Shaggy and Scooby simply stood in awe at what had just happened, glanced at each other, before they also ran around to the other side of the house.

Daphne's eyes searched desperately for something to aid her in her escape, and spotted something she thought would be a big help. The door to the Wilsons basement was under repair, and by the looks of it, whoever had been working on it had left some spare parts scattered around. Picking up a large piece of wood, she smiled.

The ghost darted around the corner, his eyes landing on the innocent looked red head with her arms behind her back. She looked scared, her eyes wide and watery as she backed away slowly, "Oh, please," She whimpered, "I am sorry, I didn't mean to cause such trouble."

Smirking, the ghost continued to run forward, not wasting any time on gloating. Yet, his smile was soon cut short, as when he got close enough to Daphne, she pulled out the wood from behind her back and swung it at him. With the wood being rather heavy, especially for the dainty red head, it was a low swing, heading for his waist, however, by a chance of sheer luck, the ghost attempted to doge the blow, and somehow, it hit him across the front of his legs, hitting a very sensitive part.

He yelped in pain, just as Fred ran around the corner, stunned by Daphne's actions. As the ghost fell, he grabbed Daphne by her green scarf, pulling her off balance. They were both about to fall into the open basement together, but fortunately Fred got there just in time to wrap his arms around Daphne's waist and keep them both up. One hand on the ghosts wrist and another pushing his forehead, Daphne struggled to loosen the grip the ghost had on her. The ghost held her arm, keeping himself up as his other arm held her hair tightly.

Daphne squeaked with each tug of her hair and finally couldn't take any more. Throwing her head back, she forcefully leaned forwards, landing a harsh head but on the ghost's head. He let go, shouting insults at her as he fell down the steps to the basement and staggered away, holding his head in pain.

Fred held Daphne steady as she too held her head. Squinting, she looked down at her to her hand, which was holding the expensive looking watch the ghost was wearing.

Velma stirred. Her head was aching and she could barely stand without falling back down. She could hear a soft scratching noise coming from behind one of the walls, followed by a soft knocking. Nervously, she rose to her feet, still slightly off balance, and knocked on the wall slowly. "H-hello?" She stammered.

"Velma? Is that you?" came a voice from behind the wall.

"Jinkies!" Velma gasped, "Jonathan is that you?"

"Yeah, I-I don't really know where I am, or how to get out." He said, thankful that she couldn't see his reddened cheeks.

"Uhh, give me a minute." Velma said, her eyes darting around the room. The room was fairly empty except for a chest, a bed, a wardrobe and a bookshelf...'A bookshelf!' Velma thought in triumph. Standing on her tip toes, she quickly began pulling the books off the shelf, tossing them onto the double bed. Towards the end of the shelf, she picked up a worn book and as she held it to her chest, she heard a loud scraping sound. Turning, she saw Jonathan wander out of the passage, looking a little dazed.

Rubbing his eyes, he squinted at Velma, trying to adjust to the sudden light in the room. "W-where's everyone else?" He stammered.

"They're..." Velma paused as it dawned on her that she just dropped Daphne out of a two storey window. "Oh shit." She whispered softly, rushing to the window.

"Velma, what _are _you doing?" Jonathan asked.

"I dropped Daphne out of the window!" Velma cried, throwing her hands into the air, one of which was still holing the old book.

"Y-you what!" Jonathan exclaimed, his eyes widening and his jaw dropping to the wooden floor.

Velma turned and looked out of the window, only to be pushed out of the way by a panicked Jonathan. They desperately searched the ground below but saw nothing, that's when they heard faint voices. Daphne and Fred walked around the corner, Fred still supporting Daphne by the waist. Shaggy followed, Scooby in his arms, the Wilsons just a few steps behind. Jonathan ran out of the room, his fists were clenched as he bounded down the stairs and out of the front door.

Velma shot up, rushing after him, she needed to know that Daphne was okay, after all, she'd just feel out of a window! Practically jumping down the stairs, Velma also ran out of the door, only to fine Jonathan pulling Daphne away from Fred, looking both annoyed and concerned at the same time.

"Daphne are you okay?" Jonathan asked, pulling up Daphne's sleeves and inspecting her arms.

"Yes Jonny I'm _fine_." She sighed.

"Are you sure?" He asked, holding her cheeks and searching her face for any injuries.

"Yes, I'm sure." She sighed again.

His eyes wandered around her body, and found the drops of blood on her chest. "Daphne!" He gasped, "W-what's that! Are you hurt?"

"Jonny I'm fine, really, it was just off that ghost, I'm not hurt I swear." She sighed again, secretly thrilled that he was so protective of her.

He pulled her close into a warm embrace, sighing with relief. He stroked her hair, taking in her lavender scent and smiled. Fred grimaced, they looked so happy together, so content. He found himself having to look away, unable to take the pain quickly rising in his chest. He wanted anything to happen, he didn't care what, he just wanted something to distract him from the scene before him. He looked at Velma, stood watching with a book in her hand.

"Hey Velm, what's that?" He asked, pointing to the book.

Velma looked down, "O-oh!" She gasped, "I mustn't have put it down when I was..." She opened the book, revealing hand written passages from different dates. The first passage was dated 11/9/39 and held information of the war breaking out in Europe. The last was unfinished. The only information it held was "They're here for me." No month, No year, Nothing else.

"Jinkies..." Velma whispered, looking up at the gang and the Wilsons.

"What do you think that last one means?" Daphne said softly.

"I think we can shin some light on this one." Mr. Wilson sighed, "Please, come inside and we can talk about this a little more.

The gang nodded, following him inside. Daphne walked forward, examining the watch in her hands. She opened her mouth, about to tell Velma of what she had found, Fred, Shaggy and Scooby already knew, when she was interrupted. "Oh hey Daph, you found my watch." Jonathan said smiling, taking it out of her hands.

Daphne's heart skipped a beat. _Jonathan's watch?_ But she found it on the ghosts wrist! She looked up at him, a panic rising inside of her. She looked around. Fred looked at him, with wide eyes, his mouth agape.

_Author's note: Okayy so I got chance to finish this Chapter off today because we were sent home from school because of the snow :)_

_so please, tell me what you think ^-^_


	8. Story Time

Fred glared at Jonathan then turned to face Daphne. Jonathan walked on, putting his watch back on his wrist.

"Daphne," Fred hissed, "Did you see that?"

Daphne paused, staring at Fred. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He gazed at her in disbelief. She was walking away now, to join Jonathan and listen to what the Wilsons had to say. Was she just going to ignore this clue; pretend it didn't happen? No way, Fred wasn't going to let this happen, that ghost was after Daphne before, and if it was Jonathan, then Daphne could be in some serious danger.

"Hey Velma!" Fred shouted, running past Daphne and Jonathan and up to Shaggy, Velma and Scooby. "Has Shaggy told you about that watch yet?"

"Like, yeah man, I just told her." Shaggy smiled.

"Well Jonathan just thanked Daphne for finding it for him." Fred muttered.

"Jinkies!" Velma gasped.

"Like man! I knew he was no good!" Shaggy practically shouted, attracting the attention of Daphne and Jonathan.

"Who's no good?" Jonathan asked, smiling.

Daphne shot daggers at Shaggy. "Ignore him Jonny, he's just messing around."Daphne muttered, pulling Jonathan towards the door.

"No, no, go on Shag, who's no good?" Jonathan smiled again.

"Oh, well, Fred and I were just talking about that...that singer." Shaggy said slowly.

"Y-yeah," Fred joined in, "That one with the...the hair."

"Yeah, that one with the hair!" Shaggy cried, pointing his finger in the air.

Velma rolled her eyes, 'Those two are useless at making excuses.' she thought.

Scooby was now joining in with their useless ramblings, saying that whoever that they were talking about was an R'n'B star that all the girls were obsessing over.

"Oh!" Jonathan said, "You mean Justin Beiber! Dude that guy is awful!"

"Wait, what, no I like him." Shaggy said, earning a harsh jab in the side from Fred. "Ugh, I uh mean, yeah dude he's like, no good." Shaggy laughed.

Daphne frowned and stormed inside, leaving Jonathan outside complaining while Shaggy nodded along reluctantly. She slumped down at the Wilson's table and began biting her lip. She knew that it was likely that Jonathan was the ghost, after that he was the prime suspect. Daphne shook her head, trying to get rid of any thoughts involving Jonathan and the ghost, but she just couldn't. "Bless him, he doesn't even know he's a suspect yet." She whispered to herself, sighing softly. Her heart was aching, if Jonathan was the ghost,that means he was the one who attacked her outside. Was his concern simply an act?

Mrs. Wilson sat down opposite her, offering her a cup of tea. "Here deary, you look like you need a hot drink."

"Thank you." Daphne mumbled, taking the cup and holding it in her hands, feeling its warmth.

"It's getting cold out there now." Mr. Wilson said walking into the kitchen, "Wouldn't surprise me if it snows tonight."

Mr and Mrs Wilson continued their conversation about the weather while the others came in and sat down. "You okay Daph?" Jonathan said as he sat down next to he, snaking his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah I'm fine."She murmured, looking up into his blue eyes.

"Daph, come on, I know something's wrong." He said quietly leaning close to her so that their noses were almost touching.

"I'm fine, really." She replied, feeling herself becoming lost in his presence. For that brief moment, Daphne only saw Jonathan, his flawless skin, his pale blue eyes, his thick black hair...Daphne couldn't help it, she was a sucker for a good looking guy like him. Leaning in that little bit further, she let her lips meet his, unaware of the glares the rest of the gang were directing at her.

Fred coughed, banging his fist on his chest dramatically, causing Jonathan and Daphne to part. "Oh sorry, didn't mean to interrupt." Fred smirked. Daphne blushed ferociously and Jonathan scratched the back of his head, avoiding making eye contact with anyone. "Now if you're quite finished," Fred smiled, happy that he'd made them both feel so awkward, "Mr. Wilson, could you please tell us about this book?"

Nodding, Mr. Wilson put his cup of coffee on the table and glanced at Mrs. Wilson. "Well, you see kids, many years ago, this house belonged to my parents. I lived here with them and my brother, George. He was a older than me, by around 8 years." Mr. Wilson sighed. "He was always a smart boy, such a gentleman, but then he got involved with the wrong crowd..."

Velma looked over at Daphne, she was leaning against Jonathan, her head on his shoulder as she listened to the story. 'I hope he isn't the one behind all of this, I'm not sure if Daphne could take any more drama...' she though as she turned to look at Mr. Wilson again.

"There were rumours, that he was involved with the Nazis. That he had been working for them and had earned thousands while developing weapons for them." Mr. Wilson lowered his head, "I was just a lad when they came for him. I don't quite know what happened after that, but he was killed. I was later told of how he fought back with a small gun, and so they killed him on the spot."

The gang was stunned into silence as they stared at the old man. "J-jinkies..." Velma said softly, "Mr. Wilson I'm so sorry." He shook his head, dismissing any comments attempting to comfort him.

"Were the rumours about the money true?" Jonathan asked, his eyes shining as he leaned over the table slightly.

"Who knows." Mr. Wilson sighed, "They searched the house, but never found anything, some people believe its still hidden somewhere in the very house..."

Daphne looked up at Jonathan, he had a wild glint in his eye as he stared at Mr. Wilson. There was a faint smile on his face and he appeared to be thinking deeply.

"I bet that's why that ghost is here, whoever it is wants that money." Fred concluded, eyeing Jonathan up and down.

"Well, after what I just saw outside, I think it may be George, coming back for revenge..." Mr. Wilson said.

"L-like z-zoinks." Shaggy stuttered.

"R-rikes..." Scooby added, his teeth chattering.

"Well, whether that thing is real or just another fake is irrelevant." Velma said softly, deep in thought. "It still seems dangerous and I think with this mystery, we need to be a little more cautious."

"I agree." Fred said standing up, "From now on, we won't be splitting up, like Velma said, this looks dangerous, so we'll stay as a group." The gang nodded, murmuring to each other as they all stood up as well. "And one more thing." Fred said in a low, serious voice. "Jonathan, I'm sorry but I don't think that you should be involved in this investigation. Like we said before, it's dangerous, much more dangerous than other mysteries we've encountered, so I think for now, you should sit this one out."

Daphne glared at Fred, her lips curled into a frown as her eyes narrowed into thing slits. "Freddie..." She said through gritted teeth, "Jonathan will be _fine." _

"Daph, I have no doubt that Jonathan can handle this, but I'd rather him just start on a...less risky mystery."

"Freddie," Daphne moved closer to him, her voice low as she hissed at him, "I know what you're-"

"Daphne," Jonathan spoke up, "It's fine really, I understand where Fred's coming from, I don't mind missing this one out." He smiled.

Daphne looked at Jonathan, staying silent as she gazed at him. "R-really?" She said softly.

"Yeah, It's okay." He smiled.

Daphne walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I think we should, like, leave now." Shaggy said quickly. "It's like, really late." He stared at Daphne, she didn't seem to hear him and continued to look up at Jonathan.

Daphne stood on her tip toes; Jonathan held her steady. Their lips met once again, but this time, it lasted longer, Jonathan's ran one of his hands up her body until he reached her face, he brushed her hair back behind her ears, their lips still pressed against each other. Daphne's hands relaxed around his neck and fell limp on his shoulders. They stayed like this for what seemed like an eternity for everyone in the room, even though it was only a few seconds.

They parted, both of them gasping for breath as they stared into each others eyes. "I'll go home with the gang." Daphne said breathlessly, "Freddie only lives a few minutes drive away from me, so he I may as well go with them."

Jonathan smiled, nodding at her plans. "That's alright then, I need to hurry up home anyway, Mum's gonna kill me when I get in." He brushed her hair back once again before kissing her gently on the forehead.

Clearing her throat, Velma turned to the Wilsons, "Thank you for sharing your story with us Mr. Wilson, but it is late now and we better be getting back home."

"That's quite alright sweetheart." Mr. Wilson said scratching his whiskered chin.

"We'll be back tomorrow around the same time." Fred smiled, keeping his eyes on the smitten couple in the corner.

The gang left the house, heading to where they parked their vehicles. Jonathan and Daphne said their goodbyes, kissing passionately once again before Jonathan started his car and drove away. The gang entered the mystery machine, taking their usual seats; Fred driving with Daphne next to him, Velma next to her and Shaggy and Scooby in the back.

"That was just horrible Fred." Daphne said one they drove down the road.

"What was?" Fred asked, trying to hide his grin.

Hitting him on the arm lightly, she glared at him, "You know what!" She spat, "All that stuff about it being 'too dangerous', you now you didn't mean it! You just didn't want him to help us because you think he's the one behind it and you're scared he'll find out what we know!"

Fred stared at the road, "I'm just trying to protect you." He said softly.

A tense silence enveloped the van. Daphne wanted to argue with him,she was all fired up ready for the battle to begin, but she couldn't bring herself to say anymore. She still liked Fred, gosh she'd liked him since the day they met, and whenever he said something like that to her, it made all of those feelings bubble right back up. She adored Jonathan, yet, those feelings for Fred had never been the kind to be ignored. When they were alone, when she wasn't with Jonathan, she was almost certain that she loved him, but once there was another hunk on the scene, she always became distracted from Freddie. She knew it was wrong, she was selfish. Whenever Fred flirted with another girl, that's when she'd show her feelings the most, even if it did seem to go unnoticed most of the time, she couldn't stand to see him with anyone else. Yet still, she refused to surrender, she would never tell him how she felt, she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that every girl had a crush on him at one point or another; that would just add to his ego.

Soon, they reached Velma's house, then Shaggy's. Now, it was just Fred and Daphne, alone in the van together, neither wanting to speak to the other. Once they reached Daphne's house, Fred looked over at her. She had slid over to the seat nearest the window and was leaning against the door, the only movement the slow rising and falling of her chest as she sighed.

"Freddie I'm sorry." She whispered, closing her eyes.

Fred looked at her, waiting to see if she had anything else to say. Daphne had never been the kind of person to apologise very often. She was stubborn, so stubborn that no matter what, she wouldn't ever admit she was wrong, and if she did, it was only because it was blatantly obvious.

"I-I just r-really like him, and if he is the ghost th-then..." She paused, her eyes still closed as she bit down hard on her lip. She sniffed and lifted her head, taking in a deep breath. Blinking a few times to try and get rid of the water forming in her eyes, then looked at Fred. "Fred, he's not the ghost." She said, staring intensely at him.

"Daph come on, you can't just say that he isn't...or is, the ghost, just because you like him." Fred said, reaching out and rubbing Daphne's arm gently.

"Freddie he's not, I now he's not, please, just trust me on this." She whispered softly, "Just call it my-"

"Woman's intuition." He finished for her, sighing.

"Yeah..." She said, so quietly that Fred could barely hear her. "Well, goodnight Freddie..." She smiled weakly and opened the door, "Same time tomorrow?"

"Yeah...Yeah Daph." He said nodding, watching as she nodded and closed the door. He was used to this, admiring her from afar, right now he was watching her walk up to her mansion, dragging her feet. "Oh Daph...why do you always fall for the wrong guys?" He asked, feeling the tears in his own eyes spill over the top and trickle down his face.

_Author's Note: okay so sorry for the wait, but its here xD been rather busy this weekend, so I only had chance to finish writing this today :)_

_Okay so the Justin Beiber bit, I couldn't think of another love him or hate him artist so I chose him XD and yes, Shaggy is a fan ;)_

_And thank you very much to everyone who has voted for me in XxLadyStrengthxX and AudryMetalMouth's fanfiction awards! ^-^_

_Also, special thanks to Chezza456 and craponacrutch who seem to review all the time! ^-^_

_As always reviews are appreciated :)_


	9. Seeing Red

_Author's Note: Alright I'm back ;D I apologise for the wait, but I've been extremely busy lately xD_

_So finally, after the long wait, here the next chapter, please review and tell me what you think, but I may need time to get back to writing xD_

Groaning, Daphne clambered into the black limousine and set off for school. She had been uneasy in limos since the incident with Mr. Stevenson and his two thugs, but she was too tired to care this morning. Greeting her new chauffeur, she closed her eyes and rested her head on the seat behind her. The night before she was kept awake at the thought of this new mystery; but even more about Jonathan.

All night, each time she closer her eyes, she saw him, picking up that watch and smiling sweetly. Too sweetly. She knew it couldn't be him, things just didn't seem to add up properly, she was certain Jonathan was there when the ghost chased them, or was that just a trick? Could he really be so devious as to plan it so carefully? Exhaling slowly she opened her eyes and turned to look out the window, still trying to figure everything out.

Fred sighed and rested his head on the steering wheel. He was already at school, now he just sat waiting in the mystery machine for one of he gang to show up, silently hoping it would be Daphne. He didn't like to see her upset, last night had made him really uncomfortable and he desperately wanted to see if she was okay. Right now, he couldn't care less about the mystery on their hands, or Jonathan for that matter, he just wanted to know that Daphne was feeling better, even if that meant she was still on good terms with Jonathan.

A knock on the window ripped him from his thoughts; blinking, he looked up to see Velma climbing into the front seat of the mystery machine. "Morning Freddie." She smiled.

"Morning' Velms." He muttered, turning back to gaze out of the windscreen.

"You okay? You seem a little...down." She said, squinting at him.

Shrugging he look at her and nodded, "Yeah I'm fine."

"Something to do with Daphne?" Velma said softly, staring at her lap.

"What! No I... I just..."

"You don't have to lie Freddie, its no secret that you like her." Velma said in a matter of fact way.

"I don't liker her!" He protested, throwing his arms in the air, "I mean, I do like her, but not...like like. She's just my friend, nothing more!" He cried.

Around the side of the mystery machine, a soft sigh, not loud enough to hear inside, escaped a young red heads mouth. Daphne bit her lip hard, trying to stop her eyes from watering too much. She could hear Velma now, talking to Fred. "Oh yeah, that's why you panic each time she goes missing."

"I panic because I know how accident prone she can be, God only knows what could happen to her if she's on her own." She heard Fred growl back.

"But none the less, you still panic and fuss over her when we do find her." Velma said in a smug voice.

"For God sake Velma like I said, it's because she can't look after herself! The reason I don't fuss over you, Shaggy or Scooby as much is because you three can actually take care of yourselves, unlike her!"

Daphne felt her stomach churn. She could taste blood as she bit her lip a little too hard as she told herself not to let any tears fall. But she couldn't do it. In the space of a few minutes, she had found out that Fred didn't think of her as anything more than a friend, and as if that wasn't bad enough, that he thought she was completely helpless. She knew that she shouldn't be too bothered about him not liking her as anything more than a friend, but for some reason, she just couldn't bear to hear it. She'd always had a crush on Fred, but since she met Jonathan, she'd almost forgotten about those feelings; but now, she felt like her heart was just going to give up on her. Sighing one again, she walked away, not wanting to hear any more.

Feeling lost, Daphne wandered to the front steps, throwing her bag down as she slumped down. Pulling out her phone, she checked for any new messages, hoping to find something to make her feel a little better. Smiling, she noticed hat she had two.

_'Heyy Daph :) Where are you? x' _shaking her head, she looked up at the sky and nibbled her lip once more. It was from Fred.

She opened the other and couldn't help but smile foolishly to herself. _'On my way to school, can't wait to see you :) xxx' _

Grinning, she began to reply, when it suddenly became darker. Looking up, she couldn't help but groan as she saw Red Herring and his gang standing over her.

"Hey there Daffy, you miss me?" He smiled.

"Oh yes Red, it broke my heart being away from you for so long." She grumbled as she stood up and picked up her bag. Red had been excluded for a while now, but it seemed he'd come back again, just like he always did.

"Oohh, less of the sarcasm please." Red laughed.

"Oh no, I really missed you Red, not having you about to cause trouble really left the school so boring." She said, rolling her eyes as she turned to walk away.

"Oh thank you so much Daphne, I do try!" Red gasped, exaggerating his actions.

Following Daphne into the school, he watched as she continued to text, until she reached her locker. Holding her phone in one hand, Daphne opened her locker and took a quick look at what was inside. Snatching the phone from Daphne's hand, Red grinned, "So I hear you're dating Jonathan now?"

"Red!" Daphne shrieked, "Give that back!"

"You could do so much better than that little punk." Red mocked.

"He's not a punk!" Daphne defended, trying to reach the phone that Red held above her head.

"Fine, goth, mosher, emo, whatever he is!" Red laughed, pushing Daphne away with his free hand.

"Red just give me my phone back!" Daphne demanded, jumping up to try and reach it, only to be pushed back against the lockers.

"Awww Daphne babes..." Red said softly, "Why have that little freak when you could have a stud like me?" He smiled charmingly at her.

"Because," Daphne hissed, "Unlike you, he's not a jerk."

Chuckling , Red looked away and then back at her, "Still playing hard to get then eh?"

"Why can't you just understand that I would never date someone like you?"She hissed again, narrowing her eyes into a cold, hard stare.

For a moment, Red looked like he was going to lash out at her, but he smiled once again, "Well, why don't we see what you've got on your phone then!" He said cheerfully.

"W-What! Red, No!" Daphne protested.

"Oh look, texts from Jonathan! Oh how sweet!" Red teased, "He can't wait to see you!"

"Red!" Daphne cried, reaching around to get her phone. "Please!"

"Please!" Red said in a high pitched voice nothing like Daphne's. He continued to laugh and push her away from him, holding the phone so close to her, only to cruelly pull it away from her before she had chance to grab it.

"Red please!" She cried once again, on the verge of tears.

"RED!" Yelled a strong, angry voice.

Red's head snapped to the side, his surprised expression turning to a look pure disgust. "Jones." He growled.

"Leave her alone Red." Fred ordered,clenching his fists.

All attention in the corridor had now turned to the tow boys and the red head cowering against the lockers. "Or what?" Red chuckled, laughing as he moved closer to Daphne, crushing her between the lockers and himself; still keeping the phone just out of her reach.

Fred stepped forward, grinding his teeth as Red stood glaring at him. "I swear to God Red, if you don't let her go I'll-"

"You'll what Jones?" Red interrupted, urging him to make the first move. "Cause I don't think you have the-" Red gasped and choked as he lunged backwards.

"Keep you hands off my girl." Jonathan hissed in a low threatening voice. He had a firm grip on Red's collar, dragging him down so that he was bent over backwards with his head level with his own heaving chest.

"You...F-Fu...let go!" Red spluttered as his arms desperately tried to grasp Jonathan.

Smiling, Jonathan pulled his arm back before throwing it forward into Red's face. Blood poured from his mouth and Jonathan pushed him down to the floor, dropping Daphne's phone in the process. Jonathan picked up the phones and stared down at Red, "You dare touch her again and I'll rip your throat out." and with that he grabbed Daphne's arm tightly and pulled her away, leaving Fred gawking the the defeated Red Herring before him.

Later that morning, Daphne and Jonathan were walking down the corridor, receiving much more attention than usual. People were pointing and whispering as they passed, some throwing fake punches at their friends while gossiping.

"Are you okay?" Daphne asked, looking up at Jonathan. He was grinding his teeth and glaring at everyone.

"No, I'm not okay." He growled back, "God, people need to stop talking about it, He fucking deserved it!"

"Jonny, please try and calm down..." Daphne said, squeezing his hand and looking up at him with pleading eyes.

He sighed and turned to face her, "I'm trying Daph, but I swear to God if he comes near you again-"

"Jonathan just stop." Daphne said, looking around at the people watching them.

"I-I'm sorry Daphne...I just can't stand to see him bully you like that." Jonathan said, pulling her into a hug.

"Jonathan!" A stern voice boomed, causing the two to part quickly. "My office, now!"

"Oh crap..." Jonathan muttered.

"Principal Evans, It was all self defence." Jonathan protested.

"Jonathan, we have it all on camera and we have multiple witnesses." Principal Evans sighed. "You stepped in when it was nothing to do with you, the school could have sorted the problem out with you causing any violence."

"I was just protecting Daphne!" Jonathan shouted.

"Jonathan! I expected better from you, a police officer's son for goodness sake! You were the last person I expected to get involved with that crowd..."

"And what's that supposed to mean." Jonathan growled.

"Jonathan, don't take this too seriously with that Blake girl. Yes, she is smart and yes she is from a good family, but she's trouble." Principle Evans sighed.

"No she's not!" Jonathan growled, "If anyone's gonna be causing trouble its me!" Jonathan shouted, raising to his feet.

"Don't throw your future away like this Jonathan!" Principal Evans yelled, "You're lucky you're not getting excluded for what you did!"

"What, for standing up against a bully like Red!" Jonathan shouted back.

"You have detention, every night for the rest of this week and the next too!" Principal Evans shouted, "Now get out of my office while I phone your Mother."

Jonathan slammed the door behind him as he left the office muttering under his breath. Daphne was waiting outside and winced as she heard the harsh slam of the door. "Didn't go so well then?" She mumbled. She didn't get an answer, instead he just put his arm around her shoulder and walked her down the corridor to their next class.


	10. Friendly Fun

_Author's Note: Okay so first off I just think I need to say that when Fred and Daphne are talking at the beginning, they're calling each other names, but not to be nasty, just like friends sometimes do xD_

Fred smiled as he walked into biology, it was one of the few lessons he had with Daphne, and without Jonathan. "Hey Daph." He said, sitting down next to her.

"Hey." She muttered.

"Guess what?" Fred grinned, "I've got a plan for tonight, we're gonna go to the Wilson house and-"

"Will this take long to explain?" She interrupted, glaring at him.

"Uhh, well I guess it could, but-"

"Then tell me later." She said coldly, turning to the front so she didn't have to look at him.

"Well that was a bit harsh Daph." Fred said to her as he also turned to the front.

"Whatever." She muttered, shaking her head as she rested it on her hands.

"For God sake Daphne," Fred hissed, lowering his voice as the teacher walked into the room, "What the hell is wrong with you today?"

"I'd rather not talk about this right now."

"Well we'll talk about it tonight while we're on the stake out." Fred growled.

"Stake out?" Daphne said, furrowing her brow as she looked at him.

"Well I was going to tell you before but you decided to be a bitch." Fred spat.

Daphne's jaw dropped. "Oh so I'm a bitch now am I?"

"Yes Daphne, yes you are." He turned to see her hurt expression as she stared at him in disbelief. "But of course, you're only bitchy when you want to be." He grinned.

A small smile played on Daphne's lips as she turned away from him again. "You're such a prat."

"I know." Fred chuckled as he picked up his pen and began to write notes.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see her still smiling to herself as she nibbled the end of her purple pen. He saw her look at him, but look away again quickly and shake her head before focusing on what the teacher was writing on the board.

Daphne was hot and cold all day. One minute she was laughing and joking with Fred, then she was back to glaring and making sly comments. Fred couldn't quite understand Daphne, he never really did. She always had mood swings, but these were just out of control. He knew that it was his fault, she was still talking to Velma, Shaggy and Scooby, and being much more friendly with everyone else for that matter. She always seemed to do that, when she was in a mood she'd make you notice it. That was the bitchy part of her surfacing; she knew exactly how to make you feel singled out.

"Daph?" Fred mumbled. He was sat in the mystery machine with Daphne. It was the end of school and they were waiting to go to the Wilson's, but Velma, Shaggy and Scooby were running late.

"Hmm?" He watched as she began messing with her nails, purposely trying to look uninterested.

"Where are the guys again?" He asked, hoping to start a conversation with the red head.

She shrugged, "Something to do with no homework."

"Oh...what subject?" Fred asked, staring at her.

"How should I know?" She spat back, turning to give him a hard glare.

"God Daph you don't have to bite my head off." He muttered, turning to look out of the windscreen.

"Oh, ever so sorry." She hissed.

"What with you today anyway? One minute you're fine then the next you're just giving me the cold shoulder!" He practically shouted.

"Just leave it Fred." She growled, folding her arms.

"No Daphne!" Fred yelled, gripping her by the shoulders. "Is this because of what happened this morning?"

"No!" Daphne screamed back, pushing him away forcefully. "The only thing that wrong with me is you!"

Fred felt like the world had frozen around him. "D-Daphne?" He said in a small voice.

She wasn't looking at him, she was looking out of the window, her hand over her mouth. "Freddie, I-I...I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." She whispered, finding it hard to breathe.

Fred was about to reply when Daphne suddenly jumped slightly closer to him. Velma was at the car door, pulling it open and smiling. "Come on Daphne, move up!" She chirped, clambering into the van.

Fred could hear Shaggy and Scooby diving into the back of the van, both fighting over some kind of candy bar. He felt Daphne brush against him as she moved closer to him, making room for Velma. Looking down, he saw her gazing up at him, regret in her eyes, bust she quickly looked away. She was sorry, he could tell.

The whole journey there, Fred caught her glancing at him, but never holding her gaze when he looked back. The gang were all smiling and joking about, except for Daphne, she stayed silent and nibbled her lip. Fred didn't want to make things worse, but he couldn't just leave her, even if what she said did hurt him. Stretching out his arm, he gently rested it around her shoulders and squeezed her tightly.

She sighed and leaned into his chest, "I'm so sorry Freddie." She whispered so no one else heard.

"Its fine Daph, we'll talk later okay?" He mumbled into her hair. He felt her nod slowly and snuggle in closer.

Mystery Inc. stepped out of the mystery machine and looked around. "Uh, Freddie, the Wilsons live over there?" Velma said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah I know, but we can't let people know that we're there." Freddie replied.

"So, we're like walking?" Shaggy asked, his eyes wide.

"That's the plan!" Fred grinned, turning on his heel and heading for the Wilson's house.

"Like, that's not cool man." Shaggy muttered, stomping after Fred.

Giggling, Daphne walked alongside Shaggy,watching as Scooby and Velma hurried off to catch up with Fred. "What's wrong Shaggy, being lazy?" She chuckled.

Smiling sheepishly, he pushed her lightly, "Shut it you."

"Ooh, so scary." She mocked, walking a little faster so they weren't left behind.

"Like, I'll show you scary!" Shaggy laughed, making a grab at her.

Dodging his grasp, she squealed and began to run, "Do one Rodgers!"

"Like, how can you run so fast in those shoes!" Shaggy exclaimed, only a few steps behind her.

"What are those two doing." Fred sighed as he heard Daphne and Shaggy running up behind them, laughing uncontrollably.

Velma looked back and frowned, "They're just messing about." She mumbled. She watched them for a few moments, feeling her heart beat each time Shaggy came close to catching her. She had to admit, she didn't really like it when Shaggy and Daphne did stuff like this.

"Raggy!" Scooby called out, running up to him and helping his chase after Daphne.

"Hey! No fair!" Daphne cried.

"Like, we're gonna get you now Daph!" Shaggy laughed, gaining on her.

Daphne ran past Fred and Velma, still giggling as Shaggy and Scooby followed close behind. She glanced back, instantly regretting it when she tumbled to the ground.

"Woah, like are you okay?" Shaggy gasped, rushing to her side.

"Yeah I'm fine" She panted, still giggling softly.

Shaggy smiled smugly before jumping on her and pinning her down on her back, hands beside her head, "Told you I'd catch you, Danger Prone Daphne." He laughed.

"Oh shut up." Daphne smiled.

"Alright Shag, let her up." Fred ordered from behind them.

Velma glared down at them, her arms crossed over her chest. "Yeah we're here to solve a mystery guys."

Shaggy smiled down at Daphne once more before reaching own and taking her headband. Gasping, Daphne jumped to her feet and watched as Shaggy made a run for it, waving her headband around in the air.

"Norville Rodgers you give that back this instant!" She demanded, smiling as she watched him wince at the use of his real name.

Fred and Velma sighed and glanced at each other before following the pair and the great dane along the path to the Wilson's house.


	11. Suspects

"Shaggy give that back!" Daphne shouted at the top of her voice, slowing down into a jog.

"Ha, what's wrong Daph? Tired already?" He laughed back, running further away with Scooby by his side.

Daphne pouted and began to speed up again. She opened her mouth to shout something else to him, but it never escaped her lips as a hand was clamped over her pink lips, an arm circling her waist. Her hands shot to her mouth as she tried to pull the hand away, only to have the arm around her waist tighten.

"Daph it's just me." Fred hissed in her ear, letting go of her.

"Freddie! What the-" She was cut off once again as Fred slammed his hand over her mouth and pressed his finger to his lips.

"Daph, we're on a stake out, not even the Wilsons know we're going tonight." Fred said, moving his hand away again.

"Oh." She said simply. "Wait, what?"

Fred sighed. "We don't know who could be behind his Daph, it could be Mr or Mrs Wilson for all we know." He waited a moment or Daphne to nod her head slowly before continuing. "So I called them to tell them we weren't going tonight because we're busy with something at school."

Daphne nodded again and started to walk towards the Wilson's house again. Fred followed, watching Daphne as she walked beside him. She was watching Shaggy, Scooby and Velma as Velma explained what the plan was, just as Fred had done to her. Her hair was falling on her face constantly as she walked which made Fred smile, he always did love it when she left her hair loose like this, without that headband in the way.

"D-Daphne?" He said nervously.

"Hmm?" She murmured, not looking at him.

"Are you okay? You just seem a bit...off" Fred said scratching the back of his head. Daphne groaned and quickened her pace. "Have I done something wrong, cause well I mean, you just, well, I know I have, but what, I mean, I..." Fred sighed, and then the silence began. "D-Daph?"

"Fred can you just drop it." Daphne said coldly.

"No Daph I can't." Fred kicked a stone and started at his feet. "Daphne, what you said...about me, b-being the only thing wrong with you." He paused, watching Daphne very closely.

Daphne felt her chest tighten and pulled at the green scarf hanging around her neck, "Y-Yeah." She said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Did you mean it?" Fred asked, his heart pounding against his chest.

Daphne felt the blood beating through her ears like a kick drum as her throat became dryer and dryer with each passing second. "N-No." She croaked, but it came out hollow and insincere.

"Right." Fred said flatly, marching onward.

"Freddie, I really didn't." She said softly, her voice still croaky.

"Daph, just drop it." Fred muttered.

Feeling the sting in his tone, Daphne stopped walking for a second and just watched how Fred carried on without her. She shivered as a cold breeze blew around her legs, her gaze never leaving Fred's back, hard as stone, moving further and further away from her. Slowly, she trudged after him, dragging her heels as she hugged herself tightly.

After a walk lasting around 10 minutes, the gang were stood outside of a large metal fence, the bars evenly spaced apart. "Uh Fred," Velma said, "There's no gate here..."

Grinning, Fred turned to the gang "I know that. But we're not using a gate." Everyone looked at Fred in confusion, then at each other. Still smiling, Fred pulled back a bush on the ground, revealing a hole in the fence, just big enough to crawl through.

"Like dude! Did you like, make a hole in the Wilson's fence!" Shaggy gasped, his eyes wide.

"No, I found it the other day." Fred replied, shrugging. "So whose first?"

"No way." Daphne said, folding her arms.

"Not me." Velma said, adjusting her glasses.

"Like, no man." Shaggy said, stepping behind the girls.

"Scooby, I guess that means its you." Fred grinned.

"Ru-oh." Scooby moaned.

"Go on Scooby." Fred urged, pointing to the hole.

Gingerly, Scooby crawled through the hole, digging into the ground a little as he went to make it bigger. Shaggy followed after him, slipping through easily, then Velma wriggled through, joining them on the other side.

Daphne looked at Fred "Go on Daph." He said softly, still holding the bush back. Nodding, she crouched down and brushed some of the excess dirt away.

"Like come on Daph, afraid you'll get your dress dirty?" Shaggy laughed, nudging Scooby.

Glaring at him, she crawled through elbowing Shaggy in the side as she stood up. Fred followed, letting the bush snap back into place. Once he was through he brushed himself down and turned to the gang, "Okay gang, now we can't let anyone see us. Now follow me."

The gang followed Fred as he sprinted, crawled and tip toes around the Wilson's garden, only stopping when he came to a shed surrounded by plants, trees and bushes. "This is where we'll hide." Fred whispered.

"Yeah this is good," Velma smiled, "We have a good view of both the front and the back of the house from here as well as most of the garden."

"Like Scooby, you remember the snacks?" Shaggy said, his mouth watering.

"Ru-huh." Scooby laughed, pulling out some Scooby snacks.

Daphne giggled and lay down between Velma and Shaggy. Fred frowned and lay at the end of the line, next to Velma.

The group had only been settled for a few minutes when they heard a banging from inside the shed behind them. Shaggy and Scooby jumped together cowering in fear, "L-Like what was that?"

"I-I dunno guys." Velma stammered, pulling her knees up to her chest.

Staring intensely at the shed, Fred clenched his fists and then turned to see Daphne, pale faced and shaking. He was about to crawl over to her, comfort her, but a louder bang stopped him, and footsteps stunned the others into silence. They all ducked down, hiding in the flowers as a figure wandered out of the shed.

The man they saw was average, someone you wouldn't look twice at if you saw him in the street, but over they years, Mystery Inc. had discovered that anyone could be a suspect. He was quite tall, looked to be around 25, with a muscular torso, dressed in simply a red and black chequered shirt and a pair of ripped jeans. Big black boots were on his feet and a red baseball cap covered his unkempt blonde hair. He had some hedge trimmers in his gloved hands as he headed out towards the trees on the far side of the garden.

"Ooh, why hello there." Daphne said softly, a smile on her lips.

"Daphne!" Velma hissed, elbowing her red headed friend in the ribs. "You're spoken for!"

Biting her lip to hold in a gasp of pain, she glared at Velma, "Nothing wrong with window shopping."

Rolling her eyes, Velma looked to Fred, "Who is this guy."

"Well judging by the hedge trimmers, I'd say he's either a gardener or a homicidal maniac." Fred murmured, causing the girls to giggle, and Shaggy and Scooby to whimper.

"Well it looks like he's just going to go and work on those hedges." Daphne said, her eyes following him.

"You would say that." Velma said, smiling. Now it was Velma's turn to get jabbed in the ribs by Daphne's pointed elbow.

Fred rolled his eyes and glared at the two girls, "We'll keep an eye on him..."

An hour passed before the blonde man did anything other than trimming the hedges. They'd watched him intensely for that time, bored stiff as he worked, only stopping occasionally to take of his hat and wipe his brow. Now he was walking towards the house, a smile on his face.

"Like, what's he so happy about?" Shaggy whispered.

As if on cue, his question was answered as Mrs. Wilson hobbled over to meet him, carrying a glass on what looked like lemonade.

"Remonade." Scooby sighed.

"Like, I wouldn't mind some like, lemonade." Shaggy moaned.

"Quiet guys." Fred mumbled, watching the pair closely. "I wonder why the Wilsons never told us they had a gardener, surely they know he'd be a suspect."

"That does seem rather odd." Velma agreed, squinting at them.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Daphne asked.

"I dunno, but they look like they're getting on really well." Fred sighed.

They watched as Mrs. Wilson gave him the glass and hugged him tightly, only reaching the height of his chest. The blonde man smiled warmly as he bent down and gently kissed her on the cheek before he walked back over to pick up the hedge trimmers and carry on working.

"I bet they're related." Daphne stated, tipping her head to one side.

"And why exactly, do you think that." Velma inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Just look at them, they're acting like family, they even look alike." Daphne said, shrugging.

"Well, it's a possibility I guess." Fred murmured.

Around fifteen minutes later the gang heard footsteps approaching. Hiding beneath the flowers, the could see a tall man looking to be in his late 30's walking past them. He was dressed in a black suit with a matching black tie. Dark brown hair gelled into a short quiff sat on top of his tanned head as his pearly white teeth grinned madly while he stared at the blonde man trimming the hedges.

"Jack!" He shouted, his voice as slick as his hair, "How are you?"

The blonde man, Jack as the gang now knew, turned, a frown on his face.

"What do you want Jay?" He spat, dropping his arms to his side, but still gripping the hedge trimmers tightly.

"Just came to check on things, see how things are going, check the money flow." Jay grinned.

"It's none of your business." Jack said coldly, narrowing his eyes.

"But oh it is Jack, you see, your grandparents owe me quite a sum of money, and well, I'm growing tired of waiting for it."

The gang stood in complete silence as they watched the two men square up against each other. "Oh my God." Velma murmured.

"I-I don't believe this." Daphne whispered.

"Well, it looks like you were right about them being related." Fred said quietly, glancing at Daphne.

Jack gritted his teeth, "You loan sharks don't scare me."

"Oh Jack. Jack, Jack Jack..." Jay said, looking the ground and smiling, "You don't know how much trouble you could get yourself into." He looked back up at Jack, looking deadly serious, "I can't stay long today, but you better tell them I've been, and I want my money and one way or another, I'll get it."

"Get out." Jack growled, clutching the hedge trimmers.

With one last grin, Jay turned on his heel and walked away, sliding his hand over his smoothly gelled hair as he did so. Once he was out of the gate and about to drive away, Jack stormed away into the house, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Well, that was like...interesting." Shaggy commented.

"Reah..." Scooby agreed.

"Well, I think we we've just found our prime suspect." Daphne said, her mouth hanging open.

"You can say that again." Velma muttered, pushing herself off the ground a little. "Ugh, lying down here is getting annoying.

"Velma, get back down!" Fred hissed.

"Why?" Velma groaned, "aren't we finished yet?"

"Yeah Fred, Daphne said, standing up and stretching, "I'm aching from lying down there so long."

"Daphne!" Fred hissed, glaring at her, get down!"

"Oh come on Fred, I-" Daphne stopped talking and froze, her arms dropping limply to her sides. "Oh no..." She moaned, taking a few steps back towards the shed.

"Like, z-zoinks!" Shaggy cried, jumping up. "I-It's the ghost, man!"

Fred shot to his feet and fixed his gaze on the pale figure running towards them at full speed. "Everybody, run now!"


	12. The Chase

They all ran in different directions, arms flailing as they screamed. Shaggy and Scooby were the only ones that stuck together, and the ghost followed them. The two of them darted around the garden whimpering as they ran into the back.

"Like Scoob, in here!" Shaggy cried, pointing to a door leading to the basement as the ghost rounded the corner.

The pair yanked the wooden door open and tumbled down the steps, landing in a heap at the bottom; both panting. "Rhaggy!" Scooby yelped.

"Like Scoob we gotta get out of...wait, like, where's the ghost?" Shaggy asked, standing up and brushing himself off.

Cautiously, he crept back up the steps and poked his head out, to see nothing more than the Wilson's backyard. "Like, where'd he go?"

Velma ducked into a shrub outside the Wilson's gate, crouching down into a small ball. "It's just lucky I'm so short." She murmured to herself, adjusting her glasses. Looking around she couldn't see any sign of he ghost, or the gang for that matter, but she figured it would be better to stay there for at least a little bit longer, just in case. Then something caught her eye. A red car, looking oddly familiar parked about 50 yards away from the Wilson's house. "Is that-" She stopped suddenly, mid sentence as she had the sudden feeling she was being watched. Turning around quickly, she stared up into the cold eyes of the ghost of George Wilson. "Oh jinkies..." She mumbled, crawling out of the shrub as she dodged his prying hands.

"Get back here!" The ghost bellowed, shaking his fist at the small brunette.

Velma ignored his orders and ran faster, so fast that she wasn't even sure her feet were hitting the ground beneath them. Then she fell.

Dashing around the corner of the house, it dawned on Daphne that she'd just ran in a complete circle and ended up near enough in the same place she'd started. Stopping in her tracks she fixed her eyes on Velma, on her hands and knees trying to find her glasses, the ghost leaning over her, ready to strike.

"Velma!" She shrieked, waving her arms. She wasn't really trying to catch Velma's attention, after all, she wouldn't even be able to see her without her glasses, no, she was trying to distract the ghost.

"D-Daphne?" Velma called out, squinting in the direction of the purple blur she could make out.

Daphne picked up a pebble, throwing it in their direction. It missed, but it was enough to enrage the ghost, causing it to run at her. "Uh oh..." Daphne groaned, turning on her heel and running towards the house. She bounded into the house, almost pulling the door off it's hinges as she forced it open. Looking back out at the ghost approaching, she felt her heart pounding, "Sorry Mr. Ghost, I've done enough running for one day." She gasped, slamming the door into his face as he finally reached her.

Falling to the floor clutching his nose, the ghost of George Wilson cursed the red head, stood up and stumbled through the door after her.

"Like Scoob, where'd you think he went?" Shaggy questioned, scratching his dogs head as they walked around the side of the house.

"Ri Ron't Ro Rhaggy." Scooby answered, trotting alongside him.

Something on the ground caught Shaggy's eye, frowning, he picked it up. "Like, are these Velma's glasses?"

Still frowning, he looked around and saw Velma on the floor, her hands lost in the grass as she tried desperately to find her glasses.

"Relma!" Scooby grinned, hopping over to her happily.

"Velms! Oh like, are we glad to see you!" Shaggy chirped, helping her up and handing her the glasses.

"Oh, uh, thanks Shaggy." Velma said, trying to hide the slight redness forming on her cheeks. "W-Where's Daphne?" She asked, daring to look up.

Confused, Shaggy looked to Scooby, "Like, I dunno man, she was like, never with us."

Eyes widening, Velma stared at the two of them, "She was just, I mean she just shouted me?" She paused a sudden realisation hitting her, "Oh jinkies the ghost's after her!"

"Like, what!" Shaggy gasped, jumping back a little.

"She was trying to get the ghost away from me!" Velma cried, throwing her hands in the air.

"Good God where is everyone!" Daphne cried as she ran through the seemingly abandoned house.

She could hear the ghost barging up the stairs after her, sill shouting abuse at her for hitting him with the door. She ran into a bedroom, feeling defeated as she realised this was a dead end. Once again slamming the door shut, she slid the lock into place and looked around the room. Fear struck her heart as she heard a harsh banging on the locked door. "Uh, Occupied!"

"Open this door now!" A male voice boomed back, slamming into the door.

Panicking, she ran to the bookshelf and began throwing books onto the bed. "Come on, come on." She moaned, "This has to work, it always does!...Well, most of the time."

"Let me in!" The voice boomed again.

"Just a moment!" Daphne called back cheerily, still ripping the books from the shelf. Panting, she reached the final row of books on the top shelf, standing on her tip toes to reach them, she grunted and she pulled the largest one down, only to be flipped around by the moving bookshelf and into a small, dark corridor. "Yes!" She shouted in triumph.

Breathing heavily, Fred turned the corner in the dark passageway and sniffed the dank air. But something was different, he could smell something, he wasn't quite sure what, but it was strangely familiar. Cologne? That was it, ia brand he didn't really like, but none the less, he recognised it from somewhere, but where? Sniffing again, it was stronger than before, but now there was something else, another scent finding his nostrils. Turning yet another corner, the odour grew much stronger, the faint smell of cologne was still there, but the other was beginning to over power it. Stopping at another corner, he cautiously craned his neck to see what was there, and the sight made his mouth drop open.

It was Jonathan. He was at the end of the dark corridor, but never the less, Fred could still make out the streaks of red and white paint splattered across his face. That was it, the smell, it was paint and the cologne that Jonathan always wore around Daphne. Jonathan looked down the corridor and instinctively, Fred pressed himself against the wall, praying that he wasn't spotted. "I knew it." He hissed quietly to himself.

Looking back around the corner, he spotted Jonathan once again, but this time, he noticed the rolled up piece of paper in his hands. Squinting, he tried to get a better look at the paper as he unrolled it, frowning as he gazed down at it. Pressing himself against the wall again, he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "Hey, Jonathan!" He yelled, jumping from around the corner, only to find an empty corridor. Eyes wide, he ran forward, searching for the suspect, "Hey!" He called out again, only to have silence as a reply.

Sprinting, he ran down the hall, his fists still clenched, that is, until he collided with someone running just as fast. He hit the person at full speed, but he remained standing. Dazed, he looked down to see Daphne sprawled across the floor, groaning as she rubbed her head gently. Gasping, he reached down and gripped her by the arms before yanking her to her feet, causing her to scream slightly. "G-Get off me!"

"Woah, woah, Daph, cool it." He said shaking her a little.

Blinking at him, she sighed with relief, "Oh, sorry Freddie, I thought you were the ghost." She panted.

Swallowing hard, Fred dropped his arms to his side and frowned. "Daph, I know who the ghost it." He said slowly, watching as her look of relief turned to shock. "It's Jonathan."

He watched as she furrowed her brow, deep in though as she bit her lip. Her mouth opened and closed as she searched for the right words to say but couldn't think properly. Looking up at him, eye wide and glazed with a look of both sorrow and confusion, she parted her lips, "Do you have any proof?" She asked, her voice low.

"I've just seen him Daph." He said softly, "I'm sorry but it's him, he was just in here covered in red and white paint."

Closing her eyes, she bowed her head, "No..." She mumbled, her fists suddenly clenching, "I-It's not him!" She protested. "I-It can't be!"

Fred watched her eyes open, filled with tears, "Daph, I saw him with my own eyes." Fred said gently.

"No!" She cried again, "Y-You must have it wrong, maybe you didn't see it right, maybe it was someone else!" She cried, looking for excuses. Her breathing began to pick up pace as she fixed her eyes on the floor.

"Daphne it is him!" Fred yelled, gripping her by the shoulders,. "Why can't you just see that?"

Opening her mouth to reply, she was cut off by a vibration in her pocked, quickly, she pulled our her cell phone and answered it. "Hello?"

"Daph it's me, where are you?" Velma's voice replied.

"I'm in one of those passageways with Fred."

"Right." Velma spoke, "Put me on loud speaker, you both need to hear this."

Pulling the phone from Daphne's hand, Fred pressed a button and Velma's voice was suddenly much louder, "Okay Velms." Fred said.

"Guys, before that ghost found me in the bushed, I saw something that could be vital to this mystery." She began. "There was a car parked outside the Wilson's house, but quite far away like it wasn't supposed to be there." She paused, sighing heavily, "It was Jonathan's car."

Daphne froze. Looking at Fred with watery eyes, she swallowed. "N-No..." She mumbled.

"I'm sorry Daph." Velma said weakly through the phone. " Also, before I phoned you, I was looking through that book we found with Shaggy and Scooby. There's a page at the back of the book missing, looks as though it's been torn out."

Glancing at Daphne, Fred turned to face the phone, "Velma, I've just seen Jonathan in the passage before I ran into Daphne." He paused, once again taking a quick look at the red head to his left. "He was covered in white and red paint and carrying a piece of paper."

"Jinkies!" Velma exclaimed, "Guys get out here right away, we need to end this mystery now."

Velma hung up and Fred looked to Daphne, "I knew I was right."

Gritting her teeth, Daphne glared at him, "Shut up." She hissed.

Narrowing his eyes, Fred kept his fiery gaze on her, "You can't deny it now Daphne, it has to be him."

"J-Just shut up Fred!" She yelled, clenching her fists.

"Face it," He said coldly, his anger building up, "you were wrong."

Breathing heavily, she swung for him, her hand still clenched into a tight fist. Colliding with his jawline, she felt a pain rush through her hand and pulled it close to her, watching as Fred held his jaw in discomfort. Silence filled the small corridor as the two stared at each other. "Freddie, I-" She began meekly.

"Save it." Fred growled, pushing past her as he made his way towards the exit.

"I hate it when you get like this." She blurted out, covering her mouth instantly.

Turning on his heel, he glared at her. "Like what?"

He watched her cower from his sightly and take a few steps back, "When you think you're right. When you'll do anything to prove that your right even if it means hurting the people close to you in the process." She said weakly, a tear trickling down her face. "When your ego takes over and you just don't seem to care about anything other than the mystery."

He watched another tear fall as she took a few more steps backwards, gradually moving further and further away from him. "Daphne-"

"It's not him." She said once more, before turning around and running down the corridor.


	13. Split Ends

Wiping the tears away from her eyes, Daphne continued to run until she tumbled out into a bedroom of the Wilson's house, panting as she leaned against the wall shakily. "No, no ,no..." She repeated over and over again as her mind tried to come to terms with everything. She could feel chills running up her spine as she though about it more and more, "No, no he can't be..."

A sudden slam brought her from her thoughts as she jumped into the centre of the room. Eyes wide, she back away towards the window as she stared into the face of the the ghost of George Wilson. "Hello there Miss. Blake." He grinned, flashing her a set of yellow teeth, "Now, where were we?"

Heart pounding, she turned to the window and looked out, feeling her stomach drop. They were on the second floor. Whimpering softly, she looked once again at the ghost and raised her hands in surrender, "Any chance of letting me go?" She mumbled, putting on a charming smile.

"I can't let you get in the way." He replied, sounding strangely apologetic.

Lowering her gaze, she sniffed "Jonathan, I-" She didn't finish her sentence, instead she ran forward, pushing the ghost to the ground as she bolted for the door. Reaching for the handle, she felt a weight on her back before crashing into the closed door, pinned down by something she couldn't see.

Breathing ragged, she struggled helplessly as he moved in close to her, "I'm sorry." He said gently as she felt a set of ropes coiling around her wrists before she began screaming desperately for help.

Running outside, Fred looked around searching for the fleeing red head. "Daphne!" he called out, not getting a reply. Heading to the other side of the house, he spotted Velma, Shaggy and Scooby standing outside. Sprinting over to them, he opened his mouth to speak, but was left in silence.

Piercing screams echoed through the halls as Fred's head perked up, "Daphne." He murmured.

"Like, you don't think?" Shaggy said, pulling Scooby close by the collar.

"We need to go." Fred announced, breaking into a run, "Split up if you need to, just find her."

Velma gripped hold of Shaggy's arm as he tried to follow Fred, "Shaggy don't, go the other way."

"But like, Velms-"

"No Shaggy, we need to find Daphne as fast as we an, and Fred's right, the best way to do that s to split up."

"You go with Fred then, like, we can't just let him go on his own." Shaggy protested as Scooby nodded in agreement.

"I-I'd rather not." She mumbled, "You know how he gets about Daph, lets just go this way." She said, starting to run the opposite way.

Mewing into the cloth covering her mouth, Daphne looked up, begging for mercy with her eyes ans the ghost picked up her bound form in a bridal carry. Wriggling in his arms, she tried to shout for help, but the most she could manage was a futile mumble.

"Stop struggling." The ghost ordered, looking down at her.

Thrashing about defiantly, she twisted and turned until she was almost dropped, but he kept his grip firm. Spitting inaudible insults into her gag, she settled down a little as he sighed at her.

"I'm not going to hurt you." The ghost reassured, readjusting his hold on her, "I just need people to think you've been sacrificed or something, at least for a while."

Walking around a corner in one of the passageways, he set her down on the floor, propping her up against the wall as he pulled out a key. Blinking in the very little light there was, she watched him unlock a small door a few feet high and open it. Peering inside, she saw that the door was no more than the size on a regular kitchen cupboard, but inside, it was a lot bigger. Cocking her head to once side, she looked back up at the ghost, who was now sliding her into the small opening. Protesting slightly, she tried to stop him stuffing her inside, but soon stopped as she got a batter look inside.

Her eyes grew wide as she looked at various pieces of paper stuck to the wall around a small desk in the corner. The only light source was a few scented candles, mixing in with the smell of damp plaster and wood in the dank room. Looking back out at the ghost, she saw him holding the door in his hand as he frowned at her, "I'll be back later." He said gently, closing the door.

"Hey!" A male voice yelled, as footsteps approached at a rapid pace. Daphne couldn't see what was going on, the door had been closed and her vision blocked, but she could hear everything, from shouts and cries, to crashes and bangs. It sounded like a fist fight, a violent one at that, but she still couldn't quite tell who it was. Another few bangs and another loud cash then there was nothing but silence. Jumping as the door creaked open once again, she moaned softly as she looked at Jonathan, his face splattered with red and white.

"Daphne!" He exclaimed, grinning, "I thought that's who I spotted."

Gripping her bound ankles, he dragged her out of the small door and smiled down at her, starting to undo the ties holding her in position. "J-Jonathan?" She murmured as he pulled ff the gag. Frowning in confusion, she sat up, with a little help from Jonathan and looked around, eyes bulging as she saw the ghost out cold on the floor just a few feet away.

He chuckled lightly as he pulled her into a hug, "Couldn't help myself," He mumbled, "I don't like seeing you in danger."

"B-But, but you, you're...my head hurts." She muttered, burying her head into his shoulder.

Pushing her away softly, he stood up and helped her to her feet, "Come on, we'll lock him up and get out of here."

Watching carefully, Daphne leaned in closer to Jonathan as he dragged at unconscious body into the room she was in just minutes before. Jonathan reached into the ghost's pocket and took the key before closing the door and locking it.

"There," He said smugly, "That should keep him."

Fred paced back and forth in the garden, "We've searched everywhere, Daphne's not here." He said in dismay.

"Don't give up Fred,We'll find her." Velma said reassuringly.

"Like, unless the ghost got her." shaggy said, receiving a sharp jab in the Side from Scooby. "Like, ow man.

Flopping down onto the grass, Fred held his head in his hands as he groaned, "We need to find her."

"Freddie!"

Rubbing his face, Fred sighed, "I can still hear her sweet voice..."

"Velma!"

Uhh, Fred." Velma said slowly, "Turn around."

"Shaggy! Scooby!" Daphne called out from the door of the house.

"Like, It's Daphne!"

"Raphne!" Scooby beamed, bounding towards her, but stopped in his tracks as someone else walked out of the door with her. Growling, he stepped forward slowly.

"Jonathan!" Fred yelled, springing to his feet. "Let her go!"

"Freddie, no, you don't understand!" Daphne cried out, as Fred rushed towards them, hands clenched into fists.

"Woah, dude listen, I'm not-" Jonathan protested, but was cut off as Fred punched him on the cheek.

The next few seconds were a blur to Daphne as she tried to stop the fight breaking out between the two teenagers, at some point Shaggy and Scooby tried to stop them, but were just thrown back, groaning in pain. All Daphne knew was that it was getting out of hand, and she had to do something to try and stop it, so she screamed at the top of her voice.

Everyone stopped what they were doing at looked at her. Fred and Jonathan were lay on the ground, firmly held in each other grips from their wrestling match on the floor. "Just stop okay." She sighed. "Jonathan isn't the one behind all of this, in fact, he saved me from whoever is."

Both boys stood up and brushed themselves off as they glared at each other. "Then what was he doing in the secret passage?" Fred asked, his teeth grinding.

"I'm helping the Wilson's with some jobs around the house." Jonathan muttered, wiping some blood from his lip, "They need help around the house, and I need money."

Fred stepped closer to him and pressed a finger to his chest, "That doesn't explain why you were in the corridor, or why you were covered in pain, and what was that paper for?"

Slapping his hand away, Jonathan glared at him, "I stumbled in there by mistake, the paint was from painting the bathroom, which was one of the jobs on the list I was carrying."

"Fine." Fred muttered, "Take us to the ghost."

"This way." He spat back, walking back into the house.

The group walked through a number of corridors n the passageways before coming to the small, almost invisible door and watched in anticipation as Jonathan unlocked the door. Once open, the gang all piled inside, avoiding the body sprawled across the floor.

"Jinkies!" Velma gasped as she spotted the scrapes of paper on the wall, "These have all been ripped out of that book we found..."

"Anything important?" Fred asked as he bent down to take a better look at the ghost.

Adjusting her glasses, Velma squinted as she carefully read each piece, "According to these...The money is real, but it's not all in one place."

"What do you mean Velma?" Daphne asked, peering over the smaller girl's shoulder.

"Well," Velma began, "they seem to be cryptic clues, but most have been worked out, the answer's for some are written underneath, in blue ink."

"Oh, right." Daphne said, sitting on the desk, "Well, at least we know that some of the money has been found, the question is, where is it?"

"Like, yeah, maybe they already spent it." Shaggy offered.

"Hmm, possibly." Daphne answered, not really listening as she pulled open a draw in the desk. Eyes suddenly wide, she looked to the rest of the people, "Uh, guys? I think I found it."

"What?" Everyone said in astonishment.

"There's money in this draw..."

"Okay," Fred said, furrowing his brow, "Lets find out who this is and tell the Wilsons."

Gathering around the body on the floor, Fred pulled off his ascot and began wiping away the theatrical make up on the man's face. The gang stared in awe as the ghost was revealed to be none other, than Jack Wilson, the Wilson's grandson.

In the living room of the Wilson's house, Mrs. Wilson nursed her injured grandson on the sofa as he sighed softly. "I-I'm sorry Grandma, I just wanted to help, get the loan sharks off your back."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Mr. Wilson sighed, patting Jack on the back.

"I knew how you felt about your brother...But it's the only way I could get the money."

Mrs. Wilson held Jack in her arms gently as Mr. Wilson moved into the kitchen, where Mystery Inc. and Jonathan sat around the table. "Thank for all of your help kids." He said smiling weakly at them, "I really appreciate the help."

"It's fine Mr. Wilson." Velma smiled.

"Sorry it wasn't really a big case for you, but we needed it solving."

Fred smiled, "It's fine Sir, I hope everything is okay."

"Oh it should be, now that I know my Brother isn't haunting us." Mr. Wilson chuckled.

"And like, you have the money now too." Shaggy added.

"Indeed we do." Mr. Wilson said slowly, "I just wish my brother didn't get it through...well, you know."

"Well, we'll be on our way Mr. Wilson." Fred said gently, "if you need us, we'll be here."

Outside the gates to the Wilson's place, the group of teenagers and Scooby all stood awkwardly staring at each other. "So, like, now what?" Shaggy said, breaking the painful silence.

"How about the malt shop?" Velma suggested.

"Or searching for a new mystery?" Fred grinned.

The gang all smiled and walked over to the mystery machine, chatting merrily as they piled in; but there was someone missing. Looking out of the window, Fred saw Daphne stood with Jonathan, staring at the floor. "Daph, you coming?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Swallowing hard, Daphne kept her eyes on the floor, "Freddie, I-I don't want to do this any more."

Hesitating, Fred paused for a moment, looking to the rest of the gang for support, "W-What?"

He heard Daphne sniffing before she answered, her eyes still on the ground, "I don't want to solve any more mysteries Freddie."

In the back of the van, Shaggy felt his heart sink, he over heard her talking about it, but he didn't think she meant it. Tuning out the now angry replies of Fred blaming Jonathan and Daphne's parents for her sudden decision, he lowered his head and rubbed the back of his neck. Velma clambered over the front seats to sit with him, nestling into his side as she sighed softly, trying to get away from the argument between the three teens.

A quick jerking motion broke the two apart and Fred reversed, "Fine!" He yelled, "Stay with him, listen to your parents, but don't think you can come crawling back to us later!" Fred seethed, nostrils flaring.

Velma stood up in the back, looking out of the window to see Daphne and Jonathan's bodies growing smaller and smaller as they drove further and further away, but there was no denying it, Daphne was sobbing. Jonathan held her close as she cried, and for a moment, all Velma wanted to do was burst into tears just like Daphne.

_Authors Note: BOOM finished ;D_

_Took a while but it's done, not quite sure when I'll get started on the next on in the series, if I get around to it at all ^-^'_

_Anyway, hope you enjoyed this story, sorry for the bit of a rushed ending, but I needed to get this done xD_

_Please review to tell me what you think, and with any suggestions as to what should happen in any other stories :D_


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